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.
