OH N ION
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
i-1.I
The search is over
But pain caused by Harms' death is not
The search for Candice Harms ijl over.
The ordeal is not — for her family or the community.
Since Sept. 22, Harms’ family and friends have suffered
the agony and grief of not knowing what happened. They and the
community nave suilcrcd tnc
fear of it happening again.
The search is over, but
the pain is not.
Right now, Candice
Harms’ family and friends
deserve our thoughts or prayers
as much as any time during the
search.
The frustrating investiga
tion into Harms’ disappearance
pulled together local, county,
! state and federal forces.
The chilling fear it
N brought pulled together the
^ Lincoln community. More than
2. 200 people gathered at a vigil to
f show their support for Harms.
5 An advertising company do
Bnan Sheiiito/DN naicd eight billboards to help the
investigation. Church members donated time to help the search.
Campus organizations worked to distribute fliers, write letters
and spread the word about the disappearance. Lincoln-Lancaster
County Crime Stoppers offered its maximum reward for informa
tion to help solve the case.
Harms’ death is a horrible, disgusting tragedy. Her parents’
reaction to her death is admirable, almost saintly.
The community’s response should be the same.
Beware
Budget cuts could start digging deeper
Tried to call a professor lately?
If you haven’t, save the quarter and make the trip to their
office. As a result of last year’s budget cuts professors in
several departments have had their phone privileges taken away to
save money. Calls to some departments are now received at a
central number, where messages are taken.
The move is part of an effort to save as much money as pos
sible without cutting into funds spent on education. But it pun
ishes everyone by setting up yet another roadblock between
students and professors.
This year, the administration is looking for even more ways to
cut costs.
Oflicials arc examining newsletter production, mail-room costs
and the prospect of combining some part-time positions. Another
proposal is to change some year-round faculty appointments to
nine-month positions.
Many of the proposals, still in the early stages of planning, will
not affect students too severely. But there are only so many
pennies that can be pinched before whole dollars get chopped.
UNL students need to pay attention during the upcoming
budget cuts. If they don’t raise their voices during the initial
planning, their pleas may come too late.
Having trouble getting in touch with your professor may seem
trivial. It may not seem like a major cost, especially when the
university is facing massive budget cuts.
But look out. The next thing to go may be your major, your
department or your college.
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, its employees, the students onhe 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
1 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. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material submitted. Readers
also arc 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.
‘Super-majority’
I am writing to express my indig
nation at the university’s decision to
eliminate graduation invocations and
benedictions. This decision cloaked
in rights-based rhetoric runs
roughshod over the foundations of
representative democracy and high
lights the tyranny of so-called en
lightened university administrators.
The facts speak for themselves.
Graduation invocations and bcncdic
' tions have long been traditional at the
University of Nebraska. Then, on a
whim, the University Commencement
Committee suddenly decides that in
vocations and benedictions might be
offensive to a few students and for
that reason to eliminate them.
To the administrators, it did not
matter that a super-majority of stu
dents wanted to retain these traditions
or that the student senate showed
healed opposition to the change. It did
not matter that no student had ever
complained that invocations and bene
dictions were offensive. All that mat
tered was imposing a decidedly anti
religious agenda*
University officials can be sure
that this controversy is anything but
dead. ASUN did an admirable job in
at least making the committee admit
their decision did not rest on Lee vs.
Wiseman, a recent U.S. Supreme
Court prayer case.
It was the epitome of cowardice for
the committee to attempt to use a
misreading of Wiseman tojustify their
capricious decision.
I applaud the student senate for
their efforts in support of majority
interests. Often, we forget majority
rights arc the foundation of democ
racy and the common good.
Ron Schmidt
Lincoln
‘Gratitude’
How ironic! In the same semester
that an entire class of students was
saved from a gunman through divine
intervention, God doesn’t even get
recognized at UNL graduation cer
emonies!
Where is our sense of gratitude?
Steven P. Hotovy
UNL alumnus
Prayer
The commencement committee
indeed made the right decision in its
denial of prayers at UNL graduation
ceremonies.
However, I am not entirely certain
- 44
What about students
with no religious back
ground? Are these
persons not entitled to
the same equal con
cern and representa
tion? Exactly who is
Andrew Loudon, ASUN
speaker of the senate,
to assume that some
people will not be
offended by graduation
ceremony prayers?
¥¥
this decision was made for the right
reasons. As the article (“Committee
votes down prayer resolution,” DN,
Dec. 4) indicates, “The prayers have
been removed from graduation cer
emonies by the committee last month
am id concerns of insensitivity for stu
dents’ diverse religious backgrounds.”
What about students with no reli
gious background? Arc these persons
not entitled to the same equal concern
and representation? Exactly who is
Andrew Loudon, ASUN speaker of
the senate, to assume that some people
will not be offended by graduation
ceremony prayers?
James McShane, a UNL English
professor, is on the right track when
he maintains that the committee “will*
be sensitive to the spirit of (the U.S.
Supreme Court’s) decision, namely
that persons in our pluralistic culture
ought not to have thrust upon them
religious observances foreign to their
traditions,” but he backs off loo soon.
People’s traditions can be religious
or otherwise, and unlike McShane, I
contend the issue at hand is not the
form of prayer to be given at gradua
tion, but prayer itself. Arc Loudon’s
efforts to ensure the deliverance of
prayer at graduation not an arbitrary,
unsolicited “thrust(ing) upon of reli
gious observances, veiled under the
guise of cultural and educational ex
perience?”
Having said all this, let me say that
I do sympathize with what you’re
doing, Loudon. I too would enjoy the
inclusion of prayer in the ceremony
when I graduate next year, but the fact
is that it is just not a sensible and
representative action to lake.
l he legalities involved with this
issue arc not unclear, and it is a crying
shame that it lakes organizations such
as the American Civil Liberties Union
to keep people honest in this country.’
The Rev. Norman Leach isn’t wrong
when he said, “Separation of church
and state docs not mean elimination
of religion,” but il does when it’s on
state ground. /
Dan Hull
senior
English, Latin American studies
Death penalty
As many patriotic citizens have
been expressing lately in the Daily
Nebraskan, the United States isa great
country. However, the United States
distinguishes itself in an unfavorable
light, that of being one of the last
industrialized countries in the world
that still uses the death penalty.
Numerous people feel strongly that
the death penalty is an effective means
of deterring individuals from com
mitting murders. However, most mur
ders occur in moments of passion or
under the influence of drugs.
As reasonable as the deterrent ar
gument is, it can’t be applied to such
cases because actions arc taken with-y
out normal reasoning capabilities. /
Therefore, the death penalty ha^
no deterrent effect in these eases. \
No mailer how you feel about the
deterrent effectof capital punishment,
one fact is certain. After the punish
ment has been dealt, it cann6t be
retracted.
I hat is li new iniormauon were to
be discovered that cleared an indi
vidual, it would be impossible to con
nect the miscarriage of justice. Tragi
cally, this theory has been proven true
more than once in the history of the
United Slates.
Another question that arises about
the death penalty is: Why use it when
there isanother proven effective means
of punishment? Life imprisonment
without a chance of parole allows
individuals the most basic right of all,
the right to continue living.
The prejudice against minorities
and the poor who more often receive
the death penalty is wrong. These
groups lack the funds to afford a law
yer of higher quality who is better able
toprotcctthcm from receiving capital
punishment. If the death penally has
to be imposed, should not it be im
posed in an impartial means that ig
nores class or race?
1 hope all people will slop and
consider the severe conscq ucnces that
will accompany the use of the death
penalty and the other possible punish
ments that could be used instead.
Dan Ryan
senior
history, philosophy