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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1992)
OH N ION Net?raskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chris llopfensperger.. . .•.Editor, 472-1766 Dionne Searcey....Opinion Page Editor Kris Karnopp...• . . Managing Editor Alan Phelps.Wire Editor Wendy Navralil.Writing Coach Stacey McKenzie..; . . Senior Reporter Jeremy Fitzpatrick.Columnist Five in one New school benefits students, universities Anew school in Grand Island will give students a healthy taste of college life before they overindulge. College Park has opened its doors and is offering classes * in business, art, computer science, English, mathematics and — political science, anK^g others. The $4.8 million project incorporates Central Community College, the University of Nebraska at Keamey, Hastings College, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Ne braska Medical Center. The school offers students who might not be ready for life at UNL a chance for a successful academic career. This idea fits in nicely with UNL Chancellor Graham Spanier’s plan for stricter admission standards to the state’s flagship univer sity. Spanier has said he wants to get tough on UNL s open-door admissions policy. College Park will offer students a healthy sample of the best qualities of not one, but five colleges and universities. Students who finish their education at the institution will not receive a degree bearing the name of College Parle. Instead, students are offered a chance to receive degrees through cither Central Community College, UNK, Hastings College, UNL, or UNMC, depending upon which institution offers the student’s desired degree. And the school is connected to a national network. This means students at College Park can broaden their horizons and take courses from out-of-state schools like Ohio State Univer sity, Utah State University, Cornell University and the University of Idaho. The program also will allow UNL to test some of its intcrcampus communication technology. Spmc classes at College Park will be taught by professors who arc present in the classrooms; others will be taught via television screen. In the televised classes, a special satellite will allow students and instructors to talk to each other. The school will come in handy to students reluctant to attend college far from home. They will enjoy College Park’s central location. Most students enrolled at College Park arc from the Grand Island area and work pan or full time. . College Park was created because Grand Island had no bachelor’s degree programs to offer employees of companies that could locate offices in Grand Island. ' The classes at College Park are convenient for non-traditional students and arc scheduled from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. most days. During the day, many classes come from Central Community College. Evening classes are offered by four-year colleges. Even a few traditional students, from 18 to 22 years old, are taking classes at the facility. Grand Island shouldn’t be disappointed the city didn’t gel its very own chance to become part of the university system. Really, Grand Island got a heck of a deal — five schools in one. -1_I Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1992 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, itsemployees, the students orlheNU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL Publications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its students. The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. I-ctters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material submitted. Readers also are welcome to submit material as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material should run as a guest opinion. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published Letters should included the author's name, year in school, major and group affiliation, if any. Requests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68581) 0448. Talking T-shirts make a statement T-shirts are a way of life. They are cheap, readily avail able and easy to crawl into in the morning. They are the fashion of the ’90s, but they have been around for de cades. Everyone has them. Everyone wears them. Everyone uses them to make statements. For instance, a fraternity brother shows he was in atten dance at the house’s lat est social gathering by wearing a T-shirt that reads: “Beer and Babes Bam Bash ’92.” But it’s not just the Igreeks who have spiffy I shirts. Nowadays, you can get _ la shirt saying anything from “Amnesty International” to “Zo ologists do it like animals.” And as if that weren’t enough, we pay big corporations,especially those selling sporting goods and beer, so we can plaster their 'logos across our chests. We also pay big-grossing music stars so wc can plaster their names across our chests. Sounds like herd mentality to me. Instead of buying someone clsc’s message, what we really need is a way to plaster across our chests our sub conscious thoughts that, due to cir cumstances, wc cannot or dare not speak aloud. Take the ShirTalcs, those cute, cuddly creatures of a few years back. Their adorable animal likenesses were plastered on notebooks, stickers and cards, while their real-life counter parts were plastered on the highways. These disgustingly cute little crit ters expressed themselves on the front of their little T-shirts. Most of the things their shirts said were along the lines of interjections, like “Wow,” “Gee” or “Golly.” Real-life shirts of the subconscious need not be so sugar-coated. „ Like the other morning, when I proceeded to spill my coffee onto my nice, clean T-shirt. My immediate reaction was to find the nearest bathroom where 1 could clean the mess before class. But I was stuck in the middle of a parking lot, a few minutes’ worth of walking from the nearest paper tow els. So I continued to class as nonchalantly as possible, grabbing my shirt, trying to hidcUie stain, but mostly making myself feel like a twit. At this point I realized I needed a "Shirt that said: “Yes; I know I spilled my coffee on myself but I can’t really do anything about it right now, can I?” to avert the looks of those passersby who wondered (a.) why I had a stain on my shirt or (b.) why I was grabbing myself. A subconscious shirt, or “thought tee,” would have been just the ticket. Instead of try ing to convey through awkward and often misunderstood body language something that cannot be expressed through the spoken word, I could flash: “Hey, bozo, what are YOU looking at?” across my chest and put an end to strange looks from total strangers. Imagine everyone in the world clothed in these “thought tees." Professors could flash the names ot spacing students on their shirts as a warning for them to shape up. Meanwhile, students could chat in class without disrupting the lecture, provided they kept their words on their sleeves. bill Liinton s smri migni say, l really did inhale, but I’m nottc'Iing,” or “Bush is a weenie.” George Bush’s may flash between “I love nukes and nuclear families,” or “Saddam is a weenie.” And Dan Quaylc’s shirt... well, it would be misspelled. Or blank. Yes, everyone from the politically correct to the bigoted sect, can wear their words. Of course, with all these thoughts floati ng around, some people are bound to be offended by other people’s shirts. Universities and communities will enact “fighting shirts” codes to keep certain offensive thoughtsoffthecloth. Courts will hear eases to decide how much First Amendment protection T shirt talk deserves. The issue may even make its way to the conservative-slanted Supreme Court, which will decide that we must either not think non-P.C. things or turn our shirts inside out. In the end, we would end up not thinking any thing that might push someone’s buttons. Or we’d become a nation of bad dressers. Sound impossible? Maybe not. In one of my classes, I was of fended by a guy’s shirt that said: “Don’t Drink and Drive." Great mes sage. : But the design showed a topless woman performing a certain sexual favor for a man driving a car. All through class my gaze kept returning to this guy’s shirt. I couldn’t believe anyone would wear some thing so blatantly offensive to me and to women in general. But I thought, “It’s only a T-shirt,” just like some of the opinionated messages that I wear are only T-shirts. The First Amendment, the corner stone of human rights, guarantees ev eryone the freedom to express their opinions, no matter how biased or politically incorrect. Over the past few years, colle communities and states have enacted ordinances against words used to in cite violence, known as “fighting words.” lYiayoe i nave a uu n-uie-uuiw cheek mentality, but mere words wouldn’t incite me to attack anyone. The daily barrageof offensive opin ions, intentional or otherwise, might be enough to enrage sensitive souls. Bull hope we’re all mature and thick skinned enough to let most of the comments roll off our backs. And although some people’s think ing may be backward, biased or just plain stupid iq me, I will stand up for their right to say, think or wear what they want. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Neither will T-shirts. Paulman is a senior news-editorial and his tory major, and a pho tographer and col umnist for the Daily Nebras kan.
