Opinion
Quality counts
Excellent research also merits reward
University of Nebraska President Martin Massengale took
an important step Saturday toward recognizing NU’s
teaching efforts alongside its research efforts.
At the NU Board of Regents’ monthly meeting, Massengale
presented the annual State of the University speech. In it, he
said he would award prizes for teaching similar to the Out
standing Research and Creativity Activity awards, which
reward two professors with $3,500 for excellent research each
year.
Massengale said it was “crucial to elevate the importance of
the teaching component to its rightful place in the university.”
This is not new news, but such sentiments are good to
reiterate once in a while. Massengale also could be responding
to recent criticism about the university’s teaching role.
Some have said that research has been overemphasized
during the last decade. Whether that is true, officials should be
wary of swinging too far in the other direction by dictating the
amount of time professors spend teaching and researching, as a
bill up for debate in the Nebraska Legislature this session
would do.
Rewarding excellent teaching is an excellent idea. Teachers
are among the most important people at this institution. The
quality of teaching affects all other aspects of a university.
With good professors come and go the fortunes of UNL.
However, teaching isn’t the only important happening on
campus.
Research and teaching are the two cornerstones upon which
universities such as UNL are built. With the recent move to
emphasize teaching, the university must be careful that research
does not suffer.
—AJ.P.
I TERM LIMITS
1 PETITION
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KIRK ROSENBAUM
Crafty campaigning comical
1_1
Crime, not photograph, offensive
I guess I shouldn’t have needed the
confirmation Tuesday’s Daily Nebras
kan provided to convince me that we
are in a lot of trouble on this campus.
Something is seriously wrong with
our humanity and our community.
Weal! see the picture we are pre
pared to see, don’t we? When I saw
the picture on the front page of the
DN Monday, I fell the pain of the
tragic event that look place Saturday
evening. That picture graphically il
lustrated the massive disruption of
lives the event implied: The lives of
an innocent young woman and her
family, the life of a reportedly gentle
young man somehow driven to the
unthinkable, and the lives of his family
and friends that will never be quite
the same. I did not see a black and
white picture. I saw unrelieved shades
of gray. I am afraid other people at
UNL saw a different sort of picture.
1 support Jana Pedersen in her
decision to run the picture. It’s not the
picture that’s the problem, and those
who could not look beyond the shades
of black and white and find the hu
man tragedy in that image need treat
ment for a deeper problem than faulty
vision.
Rosemary Bergstrom
College of Nursing
DN’s decision to run picture
called twisted, unprofessional
The photograph the Daily Nebras
kan ran of Scott Baldwin ( ‘Football
player cited for assault,” DN, Jan. 20)
was in very poor taste and judgment.
We question whether the DN was
try ing to report or sensationalize. The
editor who chose to run this picture
should ask herself if she has any jour
nalistic integrity. We wonder if the
editor could sit down face to face with
Scott’s family or the victim’s family
and explain to them why she chose to
run that photograph. We wish the
editor could feel the pain and hurt of
both families. This was reckless and
unprofessional journalism on the part
of the DN. Someone must be held
accountable for this twisted and sick
choice to run that photograph.
Torry Garland
sophomore
political science
John Medley
sophomore
architecture
DN descends to sensationalism
by printing Baldwin photograph
I m responding tor a lot ol people
who looked with disgust at the Daily
Nebraskan’s choice of photo regard
ing the recent tragedy involving a
young man and woman in my neigh
borhood this past weekend (“Football
player cited for assault,” DN, Jan.
20). Though I recall no one ever ac
cusing the paper of always handling
stories with class and good taste, I
must protest the use of the particular
photo chosen to accompany the ar
ticle. The article itself was sufficient
information-wise. The photo’s inclu
sion merely relegates the report to
sensationalist status.
We all feel terrible pain for the
unfortunate young victim and pray
for her full and speedy recovery. We
wish the same for Mr. Baldwin. Anyone
who knows this exemplary young man
is at a total loss to explain such a
totally impossible-seeming incident
involving him.
Bob Odvarka
Lincoln
* \ '
An old acquaintance in Min
neapolis phoned me last week
end in a blind rage, angry over
the abuse his presidential candidate
has been taking recently.
“Pal’s getting screwed again,” he
was mumbling. “They won’t let him
on the ballot in South Dakota or
Massachusetts, and the party people
up here spit when they say his name.”
I knew he was referring to Pat
Buchanan, syndicated troll and for
mer Reagan stooge, but his troubles
were meaningless to me. Pat deserves
whatever he gets. And why is he
running for president anyway? The
only president in the last 30 years
who left office with even a small
measure of honor was JFK, who left
in a casket. Who would want the job?
The only news 1 wanted out of
Minnesota would come next week
end from the Metrodomc. With my
chances for a trip to Mardi Gras rid
ing on the strong arm of Mark Rypicn,
political races arc temporarily mean
ingless.
Yet Buchanan’s campaign is fun
to watch. He makes Mussolini look
like a bleeding-heart liberal and is
running on the slogan “Right From
the Beginning,” a cute little double
entendre. Unfortunately - for him,
everybody from the lowest Republi
can Party gerbil to party chairman
Clayton Ycuttcr is determined to tor
pedo his campaign.
Ycuttcr is little more than a mari
onette whose strings arc pulled from
the White House. He heaps more
gushing praise on George Bush in a
day than Barbara docs in a year, and
will probably need to be dc-pro
grammed before the campaign is Fin
ished. While he plays the blabbering
puppet, his party practices the poli
tics of exclusion.
Both Buchanan and David Duke
are having trouble participating in
one of the most basic of democratic
freedoms — politics. Buchanan was
undoubtedly expecting a little more
respect. After all, his venal dedica
tion to Nixon and Ronald should’ve
guaranteed more decent treatment.
Instead he is treated like a rabid
Rottweiler.
This is just more crafty political
*
Bush. Buchanan.
Duke Alonf with
Dan Ouavle they
osmnrhsJht Repub
lican Party Held.
Could these be the
[our whitest men in
America?
maneuvering on the part of Bush and
his cronies. Why give Buchanan any
legitimacy? Better to make him look
like a bitter and petty hack begging
for crumbs.
Ycuttcr and his fellow thugs have
carried Bush loo far to be upstaged in
the stretch. They know this sort of
slavish devotion is usually well re
warded. What other excuse is there
for people like Oliver North, John
Sununu and Ed Meese?
Bush is also reluctant to debate
Buchanan in New Hampshire because
a debate would create the perception
this is a two-man race. Besides, Bush
realizes Buchanan would club him
like a baby seal in a face-to-face
meeting. So the Big Boys refuse Pat’s
calls and hope he’ll just fade away.
David Duke’s problem is a horse
of a different color. Or maybe a sheet
of a different color. Most Republican
Party people don’t even like to be in
the same room with him for fear they
might end up in the same Newsweek
photo or Winchester crosshairs. His
chances of being elected lie some
where between those of Andrew Dice
Clay and Charlie Manson, but he is
also being kept off the ballot in sev
eral states.
Ironically, the ultraliberal Ameri
can Civil Liberties Union is helping
Duke try to sue his way into a few
primaries. In Georgia it has filed a
lawsuit contending Duke’s First and
14th Amendment rights are being
violated. With help from the sort of
people he despises, Duke might be
able to goose step onto a few ballots.
The rancid cream is rising. Duke
has somehow managed to climb the
depth chart of humanity and report
edly is organizing a third-party can
didacy in his spare time. The money
he’s bringing in is quiet and impos
sible to trace. Few campaign veterans
are rushing to join his staff, yet he is
not without his supporters. And if
nothing else, the police involved in
the Rodney King beating arc report
edly looking for work.
Bush, Buchanan, Duke. Along with
Dan Quayle they comprise the Re
publican Party field. Could these be
the four whitest men in America’
Last week, Quayle stopped his mo
torcade to point out a “Now Hiring
sign at a Burger King in California,
claiming it as proof of a national
recovery.
Later in the day he poked his head
through the sunroof of his limousine,
saw his shadow, and predicted six
more weeks of unparalleled economic
growth. The man has the sensibility
of a carp.
When I made similar statements to
my friend in Minneapolis, he observed
that Dan Quayle is a huge Redskins
fan. He is often seen in the owner’s
box on game day, joking around with
whatever greedy Rotarian owns the
team.
“How could you bring yourscll to -
bet on a team personally endorsed by
J. Danforth Quayle?” he asked.
I saw through this weak attempt to
induce paranoia and inject doubt into
my plans.
Bills quarterback Jim Kelly will
take such a beating that he’ll retire
from the sport at naiftime and 111
book a flight to New Orleans. Be
sides, even if the Bills manage to beat
the spread, it won’t be so bad. I hear
they’re hiring at Burger King.
Rosenbaum is a senior history maJ°r •nd
Daily Nebraskan cotumni*.