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
Coca-Cashola
m*
Sponsor's money could be put to better use
A highly respected entity has donated nearly half a million
dollars to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The money is not for scholarships. Not for new library
books. Not even for a new sculpture.
Instead, the money donated by Coca-Cola will send more than
150 administrators, regents, athletic department officials, coaches,
trainers and football players to Japan.
The lucky crew left Tuesday for the 18-hour trip to Tokyo so
they could be a part of the Coca-Cola Bowl, a football game
between the Comhuskcrs and the Kansas State Wildcats.
Gary Fouraker, assistant athletic director for business affairs,
said 88 Huskcr players, 56 athletic department personnel and nine
non-athletic department representatives made the trip.
i NU regents traveling to
the Orient arc Robert Allen of
Hastings, Don Blank of
McCook, Nancy Hoch of
vr.l__f . „ r>:.. . A’Dnnn
IMLUiaoiva v. u, i i ui ivj vy unvn
of Waterloo, Margaret
Robinson of Norfolk and
Rosemary Skrupa of Omaha,
as well as student regent
Andrew Sigerson.
Airfare to Tokyo for a
plane ticket bought in advance
costs $1 ,1 60, Lincoln Tour
and Travel employees said
Wednesday. Coca-Cola paid
for 150 people’s tickets.
While average students
work three jobs to afford a trip
home over holiday break, “The
David Badders/DN Real Thing” is footing the bill
for several highly paid administrators’ vacations.
The football team receives $200,000 just for showing up in
Tokyo. That money won’t go toward education either. It goes to
the athletic department budget and will be used to support other
non-revenue sports. That way some of the money is going to good
use.
But there’s more.
Coca-Cola paid for room and board, not to mention other perks
picked up along the way. The NCAA allows underclassmen
football players up to $100 in “awards” during the regular season.
Seniors are allowed $200 worth.
a s awiui nice ot Coca-Cola to dole out money for such a trip.
But the money could have been much more wisely spent on
academics.
Nebraskans stand to gain little from the game, and students
stand to gain even less.
For the people of the state, the entertainment value of the game
is nil. Nebraska playing Kansas State halfway around the world is
still a game nobody cares about. They will care even less when
they discover that the only place to hear the game is on their radio
- in the middle of the night.
For university students, the educational value is even less. No
mention has been made of any money from Coca-Cola finding its
way into UNL’s general scholarship coffers.
And the argument that this is a cultural experience for students
who otherwise might never make it to Japan doesn’t wash. Most
football players arc so financially strapped because of NCAA
regulations that they won’t be able to afford to leave their hotel
rnnrm
The only way this trip might be to the benefit of education is if
the football players use that lime to study for finals.
Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1992 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by
the Daily Nebraskan Fditonal Board. Hdilorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the
university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. Hditorial 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
■tc ct l wlf.nl c
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also arc welcome to submit material as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material
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Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, MOOR St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
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& SENIOR ?
American History omits the facts
Do you know ihe real history, or
do you only know HIStory?
We arc taught many things
in school, and many of us accept this
“knowledge” given to us from our
teachers without question.
Many of us believe the myths that
Malcolm X was a radi
cal leader who resorted
to violence, that Colum
| bus discovered
America, that Abraham
Lincoln freed the slaves
and that Jesus Christ was
white.
But in reality,
Malcolm X did notcon
donc violence but believed in self
defense; America discovered Colum
bus; the 13th Amendment freed the
slaves; and the Bible says Jesus was of
wooly hair and bronze skin.
We read about the Holocaust,
which was the systematic destruction
of more than 6 million European Jews
by the German Nazis before and dur
ing World War II.
But what do we learn about the
Middle Passage and American sla
very, which look the lives of more
than 100 million African slaves, de
stroyed the culture and heritage of a
people and forced their offspring and
future generations of their people to
assimilate into the white American
culture?
Information is readily available in
our school systems about the inhu
mane acts that were and still are being
committed outside the United Slates.
However, according to our history
books, the same type of acts commit
ted in the United States are considered
insignificant, receiving only a chap
ter or a brief mention, if that at all.
The knowledge we continue to be
taught is the history HE wanted us to
know — knowledge that his people
fabricated to project a pure and supe
rior — which arc the definitions of
“white” in Webster’s New World
Dictionary — view of themselves by
deleting the truth.
Black people and other minorities
in the United States have continually
and purposely been excluded from
the history books, and we all have
been denied our real history.
The real history would let every
one know of the accomplishments
that several races contributed through
out this world.
W/a cHrtulH not ollmn aiircr*lv/PC In
be deceived.
What would we do without air
conditioners or traffic lights, open
heartsurgery or the discovery of blood
plasma? These arc all accomplish
ments of black people in the United
States.
One reason why our history books
still omit the truth about racial mi
norities may possibly be because HE
fears the power and pride those races
may feel by knowing that their ances
tors were great contributors in build
ing the United States.
If I were white, I would be fearful
also because after years of lies and
misconceptions, to discover the truth
ain’t necessarily a pretty picture.
Granted, your race has and contin
ues to achieve many accomplishments
that should make you proud. But your
pride should not be shaped by the
falsities of HISlory.
And it’s not your fault that you
were taught many lies, because we
were also taught them. But only if we
continue to perpetuate HIS ideas to
future generations, will we be at fault.
Now that the truth is coming out,
we need to make certain the spreading
of these lies slops. By knowing the
real history, weean prevent the atroci
ties of the past from repealing them
selves. I
Our future generations need to 1
know the truth about themselves be
cause if they do not know where
they’ve been, they won’t know where I
they’re going.
Spurlock Ls a junior news editorial and I
broadcasting major, a Daily Nebraskan night I
news editor and a columnist.
-M
-1—■ I-1
Lincoln Christian
I caught a show on the public ac
cess channel a few weeks ago about
the Boston Church of Christ, known
locally as the Lincoln Christian Church
or Campus Advance.
I don’t know the validity of what I
saw, but let’s hypothesize for a minute.
The program said the church shaped
its members by making them choose
between acceptance by the group or
maintaining a certain belief or
lifestyle.
In other words, if they didn’t con
form to the group, they were rejected
by the group.
Now, let’s think about the reaction
of many so-called Christians on cam
pus to the Lincoln Christian Church
and its members. Many arc angry,
scared and self-righteous toward the
church and its members.
But whatever adjective you use,
unconditional acceptance does not
come to mind.
Assuming all my assumptions arc
true, let’s look at this situation.
The church tells its members they
won’t be accepted unless they con
form to the church’s beliefs: The
church is true, baptism, or whatever.
However, at the same time the church
is “loving” its members by showing
concent, spending time and giving
much attention.
Then the members go out into the
campus and meet these Christians
who say they won’t accept you unless
you conform to its beliefs — namely
rejection of the church. The differ
ence here is that these so-called Chris
tians aren’t loving the members of the
church in any way similar to how the
church docs.
This is irony at itfe-fincst.
Caleb K. Grayson
senior
philosophy
‘A winner’
Hats off to Kirby Moss.
Rather than standing on a soapbox
and condemning this group or that
group for their attitudes or alleged
actions, he avoids the centric, dog
matic approach so common in many
ol the columns and letters to the editor
I’ve read in the Daily Nebraskan the
last 3 1/2 years.
Kirby seems open-minded enough
to genuinely try to understand the
many perspectives and opinions con
cerning each issue he writes about. He
then concludes with some sort of so
lution to the problem, something many
columnists and contributors fail to
include.
The Daily Nebraskan has found a *
winner. I hope Moss continues to
publish his perspectives.
Marty Sems
senior
broadcasting