Opinion
Nebraskan
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
Change ASUN
Elections need more than media attention
his year’s round of elections for the Association of
Students of the University of Nebraska began Wednes
day at a press conference in the Nebraska Union. The cam
paign began with the sound of VOICE presidential candidate
Keith Benes challenging the other parties’ candidates to a
variety of debates at all levels.
His voice may as well have been silent.' A*.
Wednesday’s press conference was nothing more than a
media event. It was empty of meaning and substance, which
is exactly how many students feel about ASUN elections as a
whole.
But that needs to change. ASUN candidates face several
important questions and issues every year. This year is no
different with the university plagued by serious budget cuts,
NU President Martin Massengale’s resignation, the search for
his replacement and the NU Board of Regents’ annual antics.
The candidates should have no choice but to address the
issues.
Of course, they will mention the standard fare of ASUN
issues — campus safety, clean campaigning and the dead
horse called parking.
The serious candidates need to examine the problems and
present solutions to the student body. Tomorrow’s student
leaders have to start discussing the issues today.
Just as importantly, the student body needs to start paying
attention to the campaign. Like it or not, ASUN is an elected
body. The fact that few students vote in the student elections
docs not lake away from their authority as a representative
body. It merely means they answer to fewer students.
Little mention has been made of the upcoming ASUN
elections because little has been done. Despite the fact that
new election rules allowed campaigning to begin when
classes started in January, no one has stepped forward to offer
their student leadership.
This university faces serious problems this year. It needs
serious student leaders, not hollow challenges.
In limbo
Ban on homosexuals affects individuals
While the debate over allowing homosexuals in the
military rages, real people feel the effects.
Frederick Seltzer Jr. of Seattle is in the Navy. He
is also a homosexual.
That puts Seltzer on the culling edge of social reform, but it
might mean he will temporarily lose his paycheck, benefits and
a place to sleep and cat.
Seltzer was recommended for a discharge by a military
board in December because of his sexual orientation. Since
then President Clinton has temporarily lifted the military’s ban
on homosexuals.
But Clinton agreed to have discharge proceedings continue
for service members who have acknowledged they arc gay.
■ Final discharges would be suspended, however, until a decision
is made on the ban.
That would leave Seltzer stuck between social reform and
the reality of the military’s policy. Until a decision is made on
the ban, Seltzer and others like him will be in limbo — without
pay or benefits.
When people discuss the issue of homosexuals in the
military, they should keep in mind that they are discussing real
people like Frederick Seltzer Jr. People who arc in danger of
losing their paychecks, their health care and their homes.
-1 □
Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Pall 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. 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.
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Letters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space
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Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
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Nebraska, don’t get dumped on
The push lo pul a nuclear waste
site in Boyd County has been
hindered as of late. Now Kan
sas is worried that it might be stuck
with being the host site.
Kansas Attorney General Bob
Stephen is worried and contends that
Nebraska should not be allowed to
back out of its designated role as host
state, lest the state of Kansas be stuck
with the dubious honor of being des
ignated the host for the waste.
To borrow a line from Alfred E.
Neumann, “What, me worry?”
Nebraska officials have renewed
concern that the Boyd County site is
not environmentally suited to be a
nuclear dump, as the site has wetlands
that need protection.
Low-level nuclear waste tends to
engender a constant, uncertain low
level paranoia, perhaps justified, per
haps not. Whatever the case, people
should not allow their fears and con
cerns to be taken care of with the
inducement of money.
To be wholeheartedly enthusiastic
about being the waste doormat for
four other slates would be foolhardy.
Marching headlong into constructing
the dump while counterpart compacts
aren’t might result in a compliant
Nebraska ending up with more waste
than from their five-state compact.
Nebraska, if it’s not careful, might
well become regarded as the perfect
dump site for the nation.
The people of Boyd County have
reason to be concerned. If the dump is
approved by the Nebraska Legisla
ture, what will happen in the future?
Succeeding generations of Nebras
kans will be left with the conse
quences.
Nebraska politicians should take it
upon themselves to continue lo resist
the waste site in Nebraska. As long as
they operate within legal means, there
is nothing wrong with being
Nebraska politi
cians should take it
upon themselves to
continue to resist
the waste site in
Nebraska.
uncnthusiaslic and unpleasant about
accepting nuclear waste.
US Ecology is an odd name for a
nuclear waste facilitator. Perhaps the
company is trying to confuse us, for
the name US Ecology implies that the
company is patriotic and environmen
tally concerned. But in reality they
are systematically sucking off all the
energy ratepayers’ and taxpayers’
money that they can professionally
manage while they help us dispose of
waste.
Some East Coast academics pro
posed a few years ago that sparse
areas of the plains states should.be
depopulated because of economic and
social concerns. They argued that a
concerted plan should be developed
to let the land revert back to nature so
that the buffalos and other wildlife
may thrive. Frank and Deborah Pop
per of Rutgers University proposed
this radical idea — the Buffalo Com
mons.
The Poppers must want usto think,
“What the hell, if we can’t make a
respectable go of it, let’s just remove
ourselves to make room for the buf
falo.”
If only Nebraskans were more re
ceptive to this idea. We could be well
on our way to setting aside large areas
of our state as places where people
could roam.
Since Easterners occasionally have
a certain low-level contempt for Ne
braska, regarding us a “flyover” state
and a place suitable for a far-out plan
like the BuffaloCommons, they might
just figure, why not dump their pesky
nuclear waste here, as long as we can
be convinced not to make too big a
fuss over it?
To them, there probably is not
much to places like Boyd County, so
why not add some nuclear waste to the
mix to make the county more interest
ing and economically useful?
And as long as we are at it, a
planned Buffalo Commons would
eliminate the possibility of unruly
nuclear waste protestors. No one would
be left to complain except for a few
park rangers. And I assume someone
like Lowell Fisher, a prominent waste
site critic, wouldn’t be offered such a
job. He is just a little too vocal to be
compliant.
Nebraskans’ stubborn will to sur
vive has stymied other people’s high
minded plans for us. If only we wercn t
so difficult, Nebraska could be put to
use in a most optimal way—if not for
our good, for the nation’s.
The trouble with waste is that it is
so dangerous for so long. A proper
dump is hard to construct and expen
sive. We would have to trust paid
experts, who we hope have our best
interests somewhere in mind.
Isn’t it troubling to plan ahead and
saddle future generations with a dan
gerous facility?
At the least, let’s not make it easy.
Compliance can be confused with
gullibility.
Burger is a junior philosophy major and
a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
Smoking
The ASUN resolution calling for
the prohibition of smoking in campus
buildings deserves support from ev
eryone who is concerned with the
general health of our student body.
Smokers expose non-smokers to
passive smoke in two ways. First, by
inhaling and exhaling tobacco smoke,
the smoker emits mainstream smoke.
While this alone is dangerous to non
smokers, more dangerous is
sidestream smoke. Sidestream smoke
is the smoke that goes directly into the
air from burning tobacco.
It is time UNL adopts a smoking
ban in campus buildings. Non-smok
ers cannot prevent a smoker from
poisoning his or her own body with
tobacco smoke. We should not, how
ever, allow smokers to endanger our
health with their disgusting habit. If
you want to light up, take it outside.
Brian S. Butler
graduate student
history
Thank you James Chase for your
Jan. 29 letter to the editor. Although I
am a smoker, 1 realize that second
hand smoke docs have negative ef
fects on non-smokers, and therefore I
will not try to argue with the smoking
However, I did appreciate Mr.
Chase’s mention of the fact that there
are other bad habits besides smoking.
In fact, I am negatively affected by
other peoples’ bad habits, such as
bigotry, every day.
There are ipany times when I’ve
sat in the union, or other campus
buildings, minding my own business,
and unwittingly witnessed bigoted
conversations against minority groups.
Shouldn't there be a non-bigoted sec
tion for me to sit in, so as not to be
affected by secondhand bigotry?
Katherine G. Audi
senior
English
