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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1992)
Opinion Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chris Hopfensperger.Editor, 472-1766 Dionne Searcey.Opinion Page Editor Kris Karnopp.Managing Editor Alan Phelps.Wire Editor Wendy Navratil.Writing Coach Stacey McKenzie., Senior Reporter Jeremy Fitzpatrick.Columnist Dead end - AS UN efforts come too late for action Students looking to right the wrongs done to them by professors who violate dead week policies may hit a dead end if they try to solve their problems now. Association of Students of the University of Nebraska Sen. Leslie Strong has been appointed to handle complaints from students about dead week policy violations. During dead week, which starts Monday, professors are prohibited from giving most exams and assigning papers. Strong will look over students’ complaints and contact profes sors who violate the rules of dead week. Strong said no com Dlaints had been filed vet. but she cxnccted lo ect some next week. But there is one problem. “Unfortunately, it’s kind of after the fact,” Strong said. “I can’t fix it this semester, but I can contact the professors and tell them not to repeat the violation next semester.” Instead, students should have gone directly to the source before now. Professors will listen to complaints. If they don’t, UNL’s ombudsperson has the power and authority to find a solution to the problem. Students need to be aware of dead week policies before the last two weeks of the semester. ASUN should be commended for placing classified ads in the student and faculty newspapers to inform people about the rules. But UNL students should take the responsibility on themselves to know their rights and the proper channels to follow to make sure those rights are protected. Child support Bill would guarantee college opportunity Not every idea about educational funding in the Legislature is bad. In fact, the bill Sen. Chris Beutler of Lincoln is thinking about resubmitting could be very beneficial to some students. The bill, killed last year because of higher priority issues, would require non-custodial parents to keep making child-support payments until the child was 22, if the child was a full-time student. Now, non-custodial parents have no obligation to support or help fund a child’s education once the child reaches 19. This year’s bill may not be identical though. Beutler is consid ering some good revisions to last year’s version. One revision would have the money sent to the school rather than the custodial parent. That would be more appropriate and palatable for non custodial parents. They can know exactly where their money is going. The idea is not without its faults however. Some parents choose not to pay for their children’s education at all. If the state requires a non-custodial parent to help pay for their children’s education, it should guarantee that amount is matched by the custodial parent. And some non-custodial parents continue to dodge child support payments. That problem must be controlled before the ctofo pan pvnnpl In fnrpo lhr»m In fiinH a philH’c piiiipalmn A number of custodial parents have approached Bcullcr, he said, saying they felt their ex-spouses were not making a fair contribution to their children’s education. But Bcullcr said many non-custodial parents don’t object to helping pay for education and don’t think the bill is necessary. If passed, however, the children of parents who don’t plan on helping pay for school would have a better shot at an education. After all, the parents’ relationship with their child is not a finan cial obligation that should end once the child reaches a certain age. _ Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1992 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is tel by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU 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. Letters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space available. 'Die 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. 68588-0448. -H Star TVek Given a choice, I would much rather c live in the world portrayed by “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” a true meritocracy with an active, fair ethi cal framework, than the finger-point ing, politically correct dystopia advo cated by Krejci (“Star Trek,” DN, Nov. 30). “Star Trek” may be a visual portrayal for our society, but it cer tainly is not a portrayal of our society, any more than westerns are. Krcjci’s i analysis of the show is fatally flawed l in this respect. The idea that a “white male con spiracy” is somehow in control of the Federation is ridiculous. Watch any of the shows where Picard is commu nicating with his superiors at Starflcet Command. A majority of the admi rals in Starflcet are women, minori ties or aliens and are portrayed as highly competent and loyal. A large number of societies the Enterprise has encountered are governed by women. To denigrate the acting talents of the blacks on the show by accusing them of hiding behind masks is, at best, absurd. Geordi LaForge became rhmf AnrririAAr nf tkn Cnf AmfinA k . . kin superior technological skills com pared with the white male who filled the role in the first season. LaForge is not hidden behind his visor any more than a blind person is hidden behind a sccing-eye dog or a paralyzed person behind a wheelchair. He is portrayed as a shining example of the ability of people to overcome their disabilities, thus serving as a doubly effective role model. Michael Dorn, the black actor who plays Lt. Worf, may wear a lot of makeup, but not to hide him from the audience. Dorn plays a Klingon; he does not play a black man dressed up as a Klingon. His makeup is no more a mask than Spock’s Vulcan ears. 1 have already discussed the large number of women in the command Ctnirliirn C a* UMMv»u>vvi wuuuwttUUI I1IVJVI O Ul tack on Crusher as an example of a stereotypical, caregiver role deserves refutation. Since when is a female medical a stereotype? Entry of women into the professional ranks of our so ciety, whether as doctors, engineers, lawyers or business people is to be applauded, not attacked. Crusher’s staff also includes male nurses, a further example of the “ism less” society “Star Trek” tries lopor tray. Both Crusher and Deanna Troi, the ship’s counselor, carry the rank of commander, outranking everyone on the ship except Picard and Riker. Krejei also mentions Wesley Crusher as a further example of the so-called white-male conspiracy and claims there are no equivalent fe male, minority or alien counterparts I direct Krejei to the episode where Wesley first applies for Starfleet Acad emy — and gets beaten out by an alien. Or the show where an error in judgment on Wesley’s part almost costs him his career. Or the recent show wherein Alexander, the Kiingon son of Worf, helps save the ship from piracy. Crusher is neither perfect nor unique. “Star Trek” is getting a lot less credit from recent writers than it de serves. In their zest to deconstruct yet another set of ideas, they arc totally missing the goal of the show. We live in a flawed world, amidst racism, sexism and violent crime.' The point of “Star Trek” is not to directly address the woes of today as if it were a fairy tale or futuristic morality play — it shows us a society without such evils. The show’s goal is to paint a picture of what is possible — to point us in the direction of what our lives and society could be like, if we could learn to let go of the divi sion, the hate, the prejudice and the finger-pointing and get down to the task of living and working together to make life better for everyone. Matthew Wigdahl graduate student mechanical engineering Sexual harassment I agree with Sam Kcpficld that without a practical understanding of the nature of sexual harassment and assault, society and the law can vic timize men as a group. Of course, I also agree this is wrong. However, Kcpfield’s column, as usual, lacked follow-through logic,as well as examples of his main point— proof. He did not cite any of the proofs a woman could provide in a situation where there arc no wi messes and where often there is not physical contact between victim and perpetrator. It is this very nature of the situation that encourages sexual harassers and as sailants. Kcpficld’s column was written from the perspective of a potential victim of false accusation. He says sexual harassment should be stopped because it reflects badly on men. In no way docs he indicate such crimes should be stopped because they injure the victims. While Kcpficld clearly delineates Paula Coughlin as a good accuser and I Anita Hill as a bad one, he offers only the timeliness of their accounts as the distinction between them. I must leave it to persons experi enced in counseling the victims of rape, incest and harassment to explain to Kepfield the gross ignorance of this criterion. Except for Coughlin, not one of the women Kepfield mentioned came forward on her own or ever* made a formal accusation. Each woman simply told what hap pened to her — or what she contends happened to her: an attack on her dignity and physical integrity by a public figure. Kepfield obviously is not that open minded. His response to Rape/Scxual Assault Awareness Week was to write a misinformed and insensitive col umn where self-interest wasonce again his sole motivation. Meanwhile, the mistrust between men and women continues as so-called innocent per sons like Kepfield insist upon main taining an atmosphere where sexual harassment and assault can flourish. Joan Ratliff Lincoln Conservatives Conservatives are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in the pages of the Daily Nebraskan, con trary to Jon Bruning’s challenge (“Conservatives, come out of closet,” DN, Nov. 16). We just don’t take the DN seriously. There is no question in my mind that the editorial staff at the DN has an extremely liberal agenda and docs not merely intend to publish an informative and entertaining news paper. The gaudy excesses paraded in Diversions each Thursday arc proof enough of that. I admire Sam Kcpficld for submitting such thoughtful and powerful columns to people who ap pear to think of him simply as their token conservative viewpoint. If we conservatives are to win the war of morality, it will not be through skillful rhetoric, loud demonstrations or political clout. It will be because we truly love our country and our fellow man and arc totally devoted to the truth. It will be because we arc willing to carry more of the burden on our own shoulders instead of blaming everyone else. It will be through the sincerity of our concern and because others can find no contradictions in our lives. Moreover, this battle is a spiritual one and as such it will only be won on our knees. May the frayed fabric of our country’s morality be healed before we reap the full consequences of our actions. v.r :zjr:: " - ; Perry Sink senior electrical engineering