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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1993)
Opinion Neljraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chris Hopfensperger.Editor, 472-1766 Jeremy Fitzpatrick..Opinion Page Editor Alan Phelps.Managing Editor Brian Shellito.Cartoonist Susie Arth..Senior Reporter Kim Spurlock. , .:.Diversions Editor Sam Kepfield.Columnist _______ Cooperation Regents need unity in president selection By now, the dust should be settling. After NU President Martin Massengale’s announcement Friday that he would not seek an extension of his contract, the leaders of this university should have prepared themselves for the task ahead: finding his replacement. But the regents can’t even agree that it is time to begin looking for the new president. Instead they arc muddying the waters of a controversy that dales back to 1989. The stigma of the regents’ secret firing of former president Ronald Roskcns in 1989 carried over into the search for his successor. It got worse when Masscngale, who wasn’t even listed as a finalist by the search committee, got the job after the four “true” finalists took themselves out of the running. All in all, the process look more than a year and a half, cost more than $400,(XX) and made the university’s leaders look like a bunch of in-fighting fools. This time should be different. There is no reason for the president’s scat to ever be empty. By making his announcement early in the year, Masscngale gave the regents nearly a year to find his replacement. They should be getting down to business. Instead, it appears that the regents all have their own ideas about how the situation should be handled. Regents Chairman John Payne says it is premature to even talk about looking for Masscngale’s replacement, while Regent Robert Allen of Hastings is already trying to rule out any internal candidates. Whatever the regents do, they should make a unified decision and soon. The regents have to find it within themselves to work together at the lowest expense — to this university’s pockclbook and the university’s reputation. Making it clear U.S. action needed to enforce mandates It was only a matter of time. Saddam Hussein spent the last several weeks doing everything in his power to provoke the United States into taking military action against Iraq. An Iraqi plane fired a missile at an American aircraft. Missile batteries were deployed in the United-Nations established “no-fly zone.” There were several illegal border crossings into Kuwait. On Wednesday, Hussein got what he had been asking for. American and allied warplanes bombed anti-aircraft sites in South ern Iraq. The use of force is always regrettable, but the United States had little choice in this case. The longer Hussein had been allowed to defy U.N. mandates, the larger and more difficult the eventual confrontation to bring him in line would have been. The allied action was necessary, but it came only as the result of a breakdown in foreign policy. Further military strikes can be avoided if United States and the rest of the world makes it clear to Iraq that violating U.N. mandates and taking aggressive action against Kuwait will not be permitted. Hussein only seems to understand force. If he is sure force will be the United Nations’ response to hostile acts, he will hesitate to risk that response in the future. 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 NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author. Thp regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. 'Ihey 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 letten 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 materiel 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. I HNUSl PN» -WWW. v x ^*saen\na 'WARfeD MTER "WE. WHIRS'♦*J5 VJS6P UP. Foreign students find friends I The new year snuck into UNL unnoticed. All the offices were closed for the holidays. But a stream of people was work ing hard welcoming 175 international students, who were arriving at the Lincoln airport — struggling with their first walk on snow — so as to go through the orientation program from Jan. 4-10 organized by the Interna tional Affairs Office. Besides the employees of this of fice, more than 20 international stu dents, who had gone through the same process themselves, worked as volun teers to help in accustoming their new friends to UNL, Lincoln and the American way of life — all in one week. One of the booths set up at the orientation on Jan. 7 was the Lincoln Friends of Foreign Students, a com munity organization promoting inter national friendship and cross-cultural understanding between foreign stu dents and the community. This organization is part of the National Association for Foreign Stu dent Affairs, a nonprofit membership group that provides training, informa tion and other educational services to professionals in the field of interna tional educational exchange. The Lincoln Friends of Foreign Students started as a host family pro gram, according to Judy Wcndorff, International Student Adviser. Now there arc 1,577 non-immigrant, inter national students from at least 100 countries at UNL. They arc here as students, practical trainees and schol ars. In the fall there were 300 new students, and with the 175 this semes ter, the flow of incoming interna tional students to UNL is quite high. There are 200 friends and families in the Lincoln organization, two-thirds of which arc active in the activities of the Lincoln Friends of Foreign Stu dents. I Families are re quired to contact their students at least once a month to see how they are doing, to make them feel less homesick and to make them feel a part of a real fam ily away from their own family. Marilyn Stadlcr, president of the organization, says that new friends and families arc needed because of the flow of incoming students every semester. Not every UNL yi ter na tional student requests a host family when he or she arrives, but often a family may take more than one stu dent, often as many as five or six at a time. Not enough friends and families arc interested or even aware of the existence of this organization. The people who arc interested and who participate in the activities are inter ested in other cultures, wish their children to be exposed to other coun tries or simply want to make a friend from another country. -/ Families arc required to contact their students at least once a month to sec how they are doing, to make them | feel less homesick and to make them feel a part of a real family away from their own family. Suggested activi ties include family dinners, picnics, B dinner outings, short trips, site-see ing, playing sports, exchanging reci pcs, music, customs and birthday cel- I ebrations. It is important that friends and « families do not lake part in evangeliz- i ing the foreign students. Inviting stu- M dents to a church as part of a cultural i experience is all right, though, if the ■ student consents. The international students share I photographs and slides from home, I explain national holidays, give maps I or postcards from their country, dis- ■ cuss events that arc happening in their 1 country, introduce hosts to friends from their country and cook a favorite meal from home. Lincoln Friends of Foreign Stu dents also organizes four events per E year: a fall potluck dinner, a Hallow een party, a St. Valentine’s party and a spring potluck. Their board consists of 11 members who plan the activi ties, match the students with host friends and families, make activities decisions, take care of the rules and regulations and do publicity. If you wish to take part in Lincoln I Friends of Foreign S tuden is and make I international students part of your I community activity or have a special I friendship, contact Marilyn Stadlcror I Judy Wcndorff at the International I Affairs Office. They will mail you an I application. You will be making a I great difference in students’ lives and I making their stay here much fuller. Obradovic is a graduate student in ere- I ative writing-poetry and a Daily Nebraskan I columnist. P.S. Write back The Daily Nebraskan wants to hear from you. If you want to voice your opinion about an article that appears in the newspaper, let us know. Just write a brief letter to the editor, sign it, (don't forget your student ID number) and mail it to the Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. Or stop by the office in the basement of the Nebraska Union and visit with us. We’re all ears.
