.—
"""^^^forr^owater/DN
Vain, self-centered greek system
flaunting power-position monopoly
The other day, I overheard a con
versation by several “prominent”
greeks regarding the unhappy Resi
dence Hall Association situation. It
got me thinking about the relation
ship between greek and non-greek
students.
If there is one thing that is certain,
sensitivity toward non-greeks has never
been a virtue of the greek system.
Having been a member of this system
for three years, I have come to find us
to be very vain and self-centered.
For the past Lord-knows-how-many
years, the greeks have had a monop
oly on the power positions at the
University of Ncbraska-Lincoln. We
run the Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska, Student
Foundations and other student activ
ity groups. Not to say that everyone
op these various faculties is greek,
but the greeks have always picked
and chosen who would be doing what,
at least since I’ve been here.
Like President Bush and his Yale
clan, and Sinatra and his Rat Pack,
the greeks have been looking out for
their own since time immemorial.
The greeks arc viciously protective of
their topnotch positions and fight like
hell and do whatever it takes to keep
these positions filled by grecks. Last
year’s AS UN elections are a perfect
example.
Many greeks will defend them
selves with statements like, “Hey, we
are the sole leaders of this campus.”
As if only the leaders of this country
go through rush. If everyone in the
greek system is a leader, then why do
we all wear the exact same letters, the
exact same Girbauds, the exact same
Polo shirts?
Many grecks say that non-greeks
don’t want to get involved because
they really arc just apathetic and don’t
care. Easy for us to say, since wc all
have big mansions to come back to,
full of “brothers” and “sisters” cheer
ing our every move, because they
know all campus involvement will
make their house look good. But to
whom?
Some of us actually believe that
we all had personal agendas and goals
of being greek and becoming leaders
even before we were rushed. I just
marked “yes” on my school applica
tion where it asked, “Are you inter
ested in the greek system?”
The greek system, for the most
part, is a huge ego trip. It is a big
Simon Says match. A political game.
Yes, the greek system has its share of
leaders and individuals with legiti
mate views and opinions, but if there
is one thing in common with each and
every greek, it is that every one of us
has had it a hell of a lot easier then
non-greek students. We have had the
strong peer support. We have had the
“connections.”
I am a member of the greek system
and because of it, I have been af
forded many privileges and shoe-ins
throughout my college career. But I
am also part of something much big
ger. I am a member of the student
body at one of the best state universi
ties in the country . And if there is one
thing this university needs to know, it
is that numbers have power. Numbers
can conquer.
Watch your leaders closely. Ex
amine them and their tactics. Call
them. Talk to them. Show up at their
meetings (usually advertised in the
Daily Nebraskan) and challenge them.
And then ask yourself, “Are they
truly leaders?”
And then ask yourself, “Am I a
leader?”
Chris Halligan
senior
arts and sciences
SDI, B-2 better programs to cut
than potentially helpful space station
In reference to Chuck Green’s
column (“Earth has priority over
stars,” DN, Oct. 2), he seemed to
ignore the fact that the cost of
Space Station Freedom will be
spread out over a decade. Also, if
he wants to attack a program, I
suggest that he go after the military.
The Strategic Defense Initiative
has already wasted more than the S5
billion Green said has been used on
research and development for the
space station. SDI is, in my opinion,
a worthless project, because it
would be so easy to either fool or
damage any space-based sensors
from spotting any warheads,
especially since all you would need
>. would be a bucket of sand in an
opposing orbit, which would scratch
the sensors so badly that they would
be unable to function.
Also, Green neglected to
mention the B-2 bomber, which is
still undergoing tests a year after it
was officially introduced. These
planes cost about $750,000 per
copy and aren’t really needed, since
we already have enough weapons to
wipe out life on earth many times
over.
In the early 1970s, NASA
launched the space station Skylab,
and in only three short missions, did
studies of the body functioning
under controlled stress, which
cannot be done on the earth’s
surface because of gravity. It also
studied early methods of materials
science research. During several
shuttle missions, it was proved that
some materials manufactured in
space come out more pure than
those on earth, which could make
the United Slates a leader again in
semiconductor technology. Further
research on the Freedom could
include the development of new
industries that could easily provide
new jobs for people. With more
jobs come more opportunities for
mankind to better itself, as well as
research into new sources of food to
feed an increasingly hungry planet.
Also, such a platform could allow
more research into getting solar
energy to work, as well as allowing
construction of orbiting solar
energy platforms, which have been
proposed as a source of cheap and
Tom Towater/DN
clean electricity to help the environ
ment.
Elimination of the space station
Freedom might save $40 billion, but
elimination of SDI, the B-2 bomber
and other advanced and unneeded
weapons would easily save several
limes that $40 billion. Imagine put
ting $100 billion-plus into the edu
cation system, AIDS and cancer re
search, plus having the benefits
from new materials, technology and ¥
industries created from the space
station.
Michael DiMu/.io
graduate student
physics and astronomy
Neither
Thomas
qualified
Even ‘new’ judge threatens rights
in ms first week oi testimony
before the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee, Judge Clarence Thomas
repeatedly contradicted his previ
ous record. The committee hear
ings have given us a “new” Tho
mas, taking positions at odds
with positions he had expressed
in the past and forcing the Senate
to decide which Thomas, if
confirmed, would take a seat on
the Supreme Court: the Thomas
who advocated an activist
conservative judicial philosophy
or the one who sought to position
himself as a moderate before the
committee.
I do not believe that even the
“new” Thomas would be a step
forward for women in this
country. The old Thomas in a
1987 Atlantic Monthly article
argued that “the disparities
between men and women” could
“be due to cultural differences
between men and women,
educational levels, commuting
patterns and other previous
events.” He also praised an
article in the Lincoln Review by
Thomas Sowell that argued that
historic pay and job inequities
between men and women were
due largely to women’s personal
choices, as a “useful, concise
discussion” which “presents a
much-needed antidote to cliches
about women’s earnings and
professional status.”
Thomas maintained at the
hearings, “I did not indicate that,
first of all, I agreed with Sowell’s
conclusions” and, “my point in I
discussing statistics is that I don’t |
think any of us can say that we
have all the answers as to why
there are statistical disparities.”
I also take offense to his state
ments against the rights of older
Americans. He stated in 1985 in
the ABA Banking Journal, “I am
of the opinion that there are
many technical violations of the
Age Discrimination in Employ
ment Act that, for practical and
economic reasons, make sense.
Older workers cost employers
more then younger workers.
Employee benefits are linked to
longevity and salary.” If my
grandmother in Omaha chooses
to work, I would hope that she
would have the recourse to at
least look to the law for protec
tion against discriminatory
treatment on the job, or while
being considered for a job, if she
faces discrimination as a result of
being an older American.
We have less than one week to
change the course of the next 50
years. I hope that young and old
people throughout Lincoln and at
the university arc thinking care
fully about the impact Thomas’
confirmation could mean to my
generation of young women, to
older workers and to racial and
ethnic minorities, whose affirma
live action remedies \wouid be \
threatened by his confirmation.
Those of us concerned with our
most basic rights must call our
senators today.
Tara Twcdt
UNL graduate
Washington, D.C.
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