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Journalist warns of threat to U.S. liberties
Moralists could change Constitution, he says
By Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Senior Reporter
The United States is engaged in
a culture war that could threaten
Americans’ constitutional
liberties, journalist Lyle Denniston
told about 250 people Wednesday at
the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.
“Many groups, and individuals, of
course, would like to turn the
Constitution into their own moral
manifesto,’’ he said. “That, it seems,
is occurring with greater frequency
these days — and it is that which is
largely responsible for the darkening
of the American constitutional mood.”
Denniston, a Nebraska City native
and a University of Ncbraska-Lin
coln graduate, has covered the U.S.
Supreme Court for 32 years. Now a
reporter with the Baltimore Sun, he is
an adjunct professor of law at Geor
getown University and a legal com
mentator for the C-SPAN cable net
work.
Denniston said that “hard-eyed
moralists,” insecure about what they
see as a decline of morals in Ameri
can society, are trying to impose their
moral standards on the rest of the
United States.
“It is tempting to suggest that this
phenomenon may already be on the
way to becoming the modern equiva
lent of the Salem witch trials,” he
said.
Although burnings at the stake aren’t
occurring, he said, “there has surely
been an increase in the price of liberty
for some not among the morally elect.”
Dcnniston said the presidencies of
Ronald Reagan and George Bush
contributed to the darkening of
America’s constitutional mood by
giving a voice to moral fundamental
ists previously unheard in Washing
ton, D.C.
He described the mood of these
“new moralists” as one of anger, in
tolerance and ungencrosity.
“And those in that mood seem to
want a Constitution to match,” he
said.
The new moralists, he said, want
to transfer moral responsibility from
the “deviants” and untrustworthy to
the politically controlling.
“They are . . . determined to re
store morality by seeking to impose
their own moral judgments upon oth
ers, and to do so by fiat, or by open
coercion rather than by the compel
ling force of their reason,” he said.
See DENNISTON on 3
Center of attention
Nebraska center Derrick Chandler celebrates after a second-half dunk late in Wednes
day’s game against Oklahoma State. Nebraska beat the second-ranked Cowboys 85-69.
See story on page 13.
Rapper Sister Souljah
speaks on racial issues
By Sean Green
Senior Reporter
MW7 c arc at war.”
YY That was the message
* " Sister Souljah brought
to about 4(X) students Tuesday night
in the Nebraska Union Ballroom.
Souljah, the only female member
of the rap group Public Enemy, said
that war existed when someone had
taken away that which was funda
mentally yours.
Whites declared war upon blacks
when they deprived African people
everywhere of their fundamental rights,
she said.
In her 90-minute speech, Souljah
addressed the issues of interracial
relationships, portrayal of African
Americans in the media, reverse ra
cism, President Bush’s New World
Order, the arrest of Scott Baldwin and
homosexuality.
Souljah spoke out strongly against
interracial marriages and relationships,
and said it was imperative that black
men find black women lo love.
Souljah attacked the American
media’s portrayal of blacks, and said
blacks should divorce themselves from
the fake values offered by while soci
ety.
Most members of the crowd rose
to their feet and applauded in re
sponse to Souljah’s statement that
there is no such thing as reverse ra
cism.
She said whiles had systematically
kidnapped, enslaved, raped and killed
Africans — essentially everything
racists did.
Souljah also said racism and preju
dice were different.
She said she was prejudiced be
cause she prejudged white people and
knew that they came from “a long
line of lying, stealing cheats.”
“I do not trust white people what
soever,” she said. “If you don’t like it,
you’re in the wrong place.”
Souljah, who has degrees in Afri
See SOULJAH on 3
Council offers students alcohol guidelines
By Sean Green
Senior Reporter
College students arc bombarded with slo
gans such as “Know when to say when,”
and “Don’t go for a slay ride.”
But despite these slogans, about 80 percent
of college students nationwide said they still
drank, according to a survey by the University
of Florida. That figure is down from 89 percent
in 1981.
Now, steps arc being taken to provide stu
dents with specific guidelines about the sale
and healthy use of alcohol, an official said.
“There arc a certain number of college stu
dents over21 who arc saying, ‘OK, you’ve told
us how not to drink; now tell us how to drink
responsibly,’’said David Hunnicutl, education
director at the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Council of Nebraska.
The council has devised a formula to help
college students know when to say when.
The formula is simple and easy to remem
ber, Hunnicutl said.
0-1-2-4.
Zero is how many drinks students should
have if they arc:
• Taking medication.
• Driving or performing tasks that require
full attention.
• Suffering from stress or arc tired.
• Recovering from alcoholism or drug
dependency.
• Violating existing laws or policies.
• Expecting, nursing or considering preg
nancy.
Hunnicull also said students should not drink
if they were the son, daughter or sibling of an
alcoholic.
For those not in the zero category, the rest of
the 0-1-2-4 program comes into play.
The council suggests that male students
have no more than one drink an, hour and no
more than two drinks per day, and that they
drink no more than four days per week.
Hunnicull said that women should cut the
alcohol-use formula in half. This means that
women should have one drink every two hours,
only one drink per day and drink no more than
two times a week.
Culling ihc formula in half for women is a
mailer of hcallh, not equality, Hunnicull said.
Research indicates lhal women do nol re
spond lo alcohol in the same way as men for
several reasons, he said, including body size
and composition, alcohol dehydrogenase, the
menstrual cycle and the use of oral contracep
tives.
Women also have a higher percentage of
body fat than men, he said, a condition that
translates into less water todilulealcohol in the
blood stream. Women also have less alcohol
. dehydrogenase, an enzyme that rids the body
ot alcohol.
Hunnicull said the new campaign to educate
students was started because alcohol use on
campus had nol declined.
“In the last ten years, the use of illegal drugs
has declined dramatically on campuses," he
said. “Over the same time period, alcohol use
has remained at a constant 80 percent.”
Another problem with drinking in college is
See DRINKING on 3
Reducing risk for alcohol-related problems
^9 Research reveals that, under certain
arcumstances. alcohol use can be dangerous
Zero alcohol is the best choice it you are:
-On certain medical sons or have certain illnaaaao
-Behind tha wheal or engaged in task* that require full mental or
physical functioning
-Stressed or tired
-Either the eon. daughter or sibling of someone with alcoholiam
-Recovering from alcoho'wm cr drug Oependency
-Violating existing lawe or policies
-Expecting nursing or considering pregnancy
By OBSERVING me times to absteun you can greatly
reduce the risk ol experiencing an alcohol-related problem
It you aran t In the 0 category and choose to drink, current
reaeerch suggests:
No more than one drink per hour.
No mere than two drinks per day.
No more than tour days per week.
-Because of the differences m gender, the alcohol
use formula listed above should bo cut in halt for women
Source: Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Council
Correction: Stories in Wednesday's
Daily Nebraskan about films playing at
the Mary Riempa Ross Film Theater in
the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery should
have indicated that “My Father's Glory
will show at 7 p.m today through Sun
day, at 1 p m Saturday and 3 p.m. Sun
day; and that “My Mother's Castle" will
show at 9 p m today through Sunday, at
3 pm. Saturday and 5 p.m Sunday The
Daily Nebraskan regrets the errors.
Diversions goes grocery
shopping. Page 5
2
Opinion 4
Diversions 5
Sports 13
Classifieds 14
Senators delay action on death penalty bill
By Cindy Kimbrough
Senior Reporter
First-round consideration of a
bill that would eliminate the
death penalty was delayed
Tuesday until a later date this session.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha
proposed passing i
over the bill be
cause he said a
number of co- H
sponsors of LB327 |JB||fffW
were present. ■mllttlJnK
The bill origi- [WlrJIpJnTnTl
nally was laid over I fcl
Jan. 14 with an indefinite postpone
mcnt motion pending.
Sen. Carol McBride Pirsch of
Omaha and Sen. Elroy Hefner of
Coleridge rose in objection to passing
over the bill.
Hefner, who is sponsoring a bill to
change the mode ot the death penalty
to lethal injection, said LB327 al
ready had been on the floor a number
of limes. He said he thought it was
time for the Legislature to act on it.
Pirsch said that when Chambers
asked for the bill to be placed on the
agenda, he should have made sure his
supporters were present.
Pirsch is sponsoring a resolution
that calls for a vole by Nebraskans on
a constitutional amendment that would
repeal the death penalty.
Chambers said that he was against
the senators’ attempts to hurry LB327,
but that he would accept a vote to pass
over it
“I know it is a chance to dema
gogue an issue, it’s a chance to try to
grab headlines and try to pay off
promises,” he said.
‘‘And if that is the game that is to
be played this morning, I can play it
this morning, and for the rest of this
session.
“The worst thing you can do is to
alienate me. You can take it as'a
challenge, which is not my intent.”
But, Chambers added, if war was
being declared, he could be their equal.
Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha sup
ported passing over the bill because
he said the issues involved were diffi
cult and needed to be studied.
Hefner revoked his earlier objec
tion, but added that he thought the bill
was “a farce and a sham” because a
constitutional amendment must be
included to ensure a life sentence
without parole.
The bill then was passed over by
unanimous consent. It will return to
the floor at an undetermined date.
