OH N ION
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Chris Hopfensperger. Editor, 472-1766
Jeremy Fitzpatrick ...Opinion Page Editor
Alan Phelps.Managing Editor
Brian Shellilo..Cartoonist
Susie Arth.;.Senior Reporter
Kim Spurlock.Diversions Editor
Sam Kepfield.t.Columnist
Semester-long circus
ASUN legislation will prolong mudslinging
Prepare yourself; the circus is coming to campus early next
semester.
This year, as every year, there will be candy on every
✓ comer, balloons on every light pole and posters everywhere else.
But something has changed.
Newly passed ASUN legislation that removed nearly all limits
from student elections guarantees a bigger and better show than
ever before. ;
Across America, people are just now getting over the year-long
race for president. At UNL, students should be preparing for the
treat of a semester-long ASUN campaign.
Formerly, the campaign was limited to a three-week period
immediately before the actual election day and candidates’
spending was capped at $3,500. That, apparently, wasn’t enough
time or money for the strong-stomached members of ASUN.
Thanks to the members of the Electoral Commission and the
13 senators who supported
the new' legislation, students
running for AS UN offices arc
going to be able to spend as
much as they want on their
campaigns and start them as
soon as classes start Jan. 11.
Make that: Some things
have changed.
The legislation also
increased the number of
signatures a candidate needed
to get on the ballot. That
change would have been fine
without the package deal, but
it was not the point of debate.
At the Nov. 18 ASUN
meeting, the Electoral
Commission proposal was
rejected by a 12-8 vote of the
David Badders/DN Assocjaljon Qf Students Of
the University of Nebraska.
Much of the debate at that meeting centered on the legal
questions surrounding the campaign spending limits. In fact, only
one student senator openly objected to extending the campaign
period.
Two weeks later, senators voted, 13-11 with one abstention, to
approve the changes proposed by the Electoral Commission.
Again, little was made of any point beside the spending limit.
The senators, of course, had their reasons for approving the
changes. David Stcinkc, an arts and sciences senator, originally
voted against the proposal. But Stcinkc said he changed his vote
because voting improprieties had been hard to trace in the past.
That is simply poor reasoning. Student senators arc subjecting
UNL to a semester full of relentless campaigning because “there’s
always loopholes,” as Stcinkc said.
c.Instead of working harder to enforce the rules, ASUN is simply
getting rid of the rules.
ASUN senators say that the changes will make it easier for
students running for office to get the word out to the student
body.
But all the changes really do is give ASUN hopefuls more lime
to sling mud at their opponents and more money to find ways to
get on students’ nerves.
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 or the N U 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.
Die 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 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 Si., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
Mlu HMW
Dear Mr Shellito j
£^*nBajwotrrKcvsn.r
•Bhcanfif -—-.___
Scholarships
I'must commend Craig Heckman
on his recent column (Dee. 8), par
ticularly his observations concerning
football scholarships.
Too many schools have loo long
enjoyed the advantage of players from
rich, country club backgrounds. One
simply cannot be successful at foot
ball these days without the money for
a stylish mouthpiece, or high-priced
lootball tutors. Athletics seems to be
one of the few remaining occupations
where a poor person isn't given a
chance.
It'stimcwcpuianendtodominat- '
ing football programs like Dartmouth
orColumbia. Basing football scholar
ships on football ability is an anti
quated idea. Now we just need to
figure out how to stop all the smart
people from grabbing up all the
Regents scholarships.
Doug Mitchell
junior
chemical engineering
Sisterhood
The news has been blaring at us for
several days now from the shrieks of
radio and television to the boldface
headlines of the newspaper. “Candi
Harms found,” “Candi H^rms was
almost home” and “Best friend de
pressed and afraid.” I think my favor
ite though was an editorial entitled,
“Suspense ends but not ordeal.” For
women, it will never truly end.
There is no woman on campus who
docs not feel a sisterhood for Candi.
Have we all not been guilty of leaving
a building just a little late at night,
looking over our shoulder at the dark
shadows? We’ve all walked to our
cars parked just one block too far
away — even though the street lights
were blazing. What female doesn’t
check the back seat of her car when
getting in? We look ahead, behind,
beside and all it docs is raise our
consciousness. It doesn’t protect.
Constance Blcam
graduate student
Too liberal
Conservatives have recently writ
ten letters to the Daily Nebraskan
defending our Constitutional right to
bear arms. They carry this right too far
by defending the ownership of assault
weapons which arc designed to kill
large amounts of humans in a very
short amount of time. I doubt our
forefathers had assault weapons in
mind when they wrote the Constitu
tion. The arms they were familiar
with were simple rifles and pistols,
and they didn't have overcrowded
cities where people murdcreach other
on a daily basis.
It is truly ironic that the conserva
tives arc so into family values and
ridding the streets of crime, yet feel
these weapons should be available to
the public. To lop itoff, conservatives
have opposed the Brady Bill, which
requires a two-week waiting period
before one purchases a gun.
Listening to the logic of conserva
tives, it only follows that 1 should be
allowed to purchase hand grenades to
give me a fighting edge on the hood
lums with assault weapons; after all,
grenades don’t kill people, people
who pull the pins and throw them do.
The dictionary defines arms as
anything that can be used as a weapon
in defense. This provides for a lot of
discretion. The line must be drawn
somewhere, and conservatives, you’re
drawing the line too liberally.
Paul Koester
senior
agronomy
David Badders/DN
‘Vocal minority’
Several people have written that
the cancellations of invocations, bene
dictions or official prayersof any kind
atcommcnocmcnt this year is a good
thing.
They arc, however, part of a vocal
minority who believe that any refer
ence to a higher being in a public
place constitutes a violation of their
"rights” under the First Amendment.
Even though one of the best as
peels of our system of government is
the principle of minority rights which
“the majority should not run
roughshod over,” our system was also
founded on the principle of majority
rule; not tyranny of the minority.
Living in the United Stales, a na
tion founded on Christian principles,
I would expect to find religious ele
ments of a Christian nature here. Is
this minority, who arc offended by
this, so thin-skinned that they arc
willing lodiscard every thing lhatmight
offend them? The logical end of tyr
anny of the minority is either rule by
that minority or it is anarchy. Neither
of these is desirable.
Decisions by the majority should
be kept unless they cause harm to
minorities. What harm is there in
sitting and listening to a 30-second
prayer toaGod you don’t believe in if
the majority does believe?
Ruth Marie Ediger
graduale student
political science
Human rights
I have liule or no hopes of this
letter being printed, but I need to say
that I am very skeptical about the
prerogatives of your pathetic excuse
for a daily paper. Dec. 7 to 11 was
Human Rights Week, Dec. 10 being
International Human Rights Day, but
this got no coverage.
People who think Nebraskans arc
unaffected by human rights abuses
arc sadly mistaken. Yes, as Mr.
Kcpficld has so cleverly pointed out,
there are places where the abuses arc
worse. Docs that mean we arc entitled
to ignore the problems we have here?
Is it not an important issue that only
African-Americans were pulled out
of class to be questioned about a sus
pected murdcrcasc?Isitnolahuman
rights problem that it is legal for this
state to execute its own citizens?
Speaking of capital punishment, it
is ironic that Kepficld had his column
printed that yearned for the killing of
Ms. Harms’ murderers during the very
week of human rights, while there
was no effort to raise awareness of the
abuses he was calling for. Sam
Kcpficld is a living example of the
desparale need for exposure to human
rights at UNL, but I guess the Daily
Nebraskan would rather be a part of
the problem than the solution.
Ann Towns
senior
* international affairs
