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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1993)
CTPT'Mlif'JW Nd?raskan V>/X XX 1 XV^/X 1 Friday, March 1», 1993 Neloraskan 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 Get it right Students, not revenue, should come first UNL Athletic Director Bill Byme still hasn’t gotten it right. In February, Byme proposed moving student football seats from their current location around Memorial Stadium to sections 1, 2,9,10 and 11. In other words, he would put the student body in two sections of bad seats. After an outcry over the proposal, Byme has changed the plan. Students will now sit in sections 9-14. In other words, this would be lumping the student body into one block of even worse seats. Byrne’s original proposal was not acceptable and his new one is worse. Shoving students into the southeast section of Memorial Stadium to increase revenue is unacceptable. Byme is correct in trying to raise money for the athletic department. But doing so at the expense of students is a mistake. Some of the best seats in Memorial Stadium should be reserved for students — the entire reason the University of Ncbraska Lincoln exists — not for aging football boosters. The Nebraska Comhuskers are not a professional football team. Treating them as such is part of what is wrong with college athletics today. If financial gain was the only purpose of selling football tickets, they wouldn’t be sold to UNL students at all. Byme should scrap his program to crowd students into a comer of Memorial Stadium and remember students are the sole reason the university exists. “I think this little game is bullshit. This is their lives and the future of the Daily Nebraskan we’re voting on, not your political affiliations. ” — Julie Jorgensen, Publications Board member, responding to the actions of board member Kirk Kennedy during the selection process for next year’s editor. “I can’t believe how much mud is on top of everything. This is the first time I’ve ever come out of the house and cleaned my shoes. ” — Roy Hay, after inspecting his home, which was damaged by the Platte River flooding. “We laid down like a bunch of dogs in the Big Eight Tournament. We need to get up for the (NCAA) game and play Intense for 40 minutes, instead of for 10-minute spurts. ” — Nebraska basketball player Eric Piatkowski, on the Comhusker's plan for today 's game against New Mexico State. r~ “When we found out on the airplane that we were playing Nebraska, our players had to get out the maps to see where Lincoln was. ” — San Diego women's basketball coach Kathy Marpe, whose Toreros were thumped by the Huskers 81-58 Wednesday night in first-round NCAA Tournament play. "All the community assistance in the world will do no good If there are no jobs. " — President Clinton, justifying the administration 's budget plan. Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1993 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 regenu publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL Publications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the regenu, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of iu 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 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. RequesU to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. Park can’t replace friendliness It’s been almost two months since the daVinci’sat 13th andQstreets was supposed to close. For two months, the sign has hung on the door: “Our days are numbered, UNL extended our lease.” For two months, whenever my friends and I have dined out, we’ve chosen daVinci’s. “We’d better go while we can,” someone is bound to say. “It’s going to close soon, you know.” Yes, someday soon, the 13th and Q daVinci’s will go where all good piz zerias go when their day has come to leave this world. And when it’s gone, we’ll miss it. We won’t necessarily miss the pizza. There will still be dozens of pizza joints left in Lincoln, incl uding a hand ful of daVinci’s. But none of these will have the same atmosphere or friendliness. And none of these will have Jeff. Jeff is one of the managers down at 13th and Q. He is also one of the most spastically friendly people I’ve ever met. I admit that the first few times I visited daVinci’s, I was put off by Jeffs ultra-smiley greeting. “Hey, Rainbow! How are you today?” Hardened by 20 years of harsh, big-city life in Omaha, I didn’t trust this stranger’s friendliness. He re minded me of those people at Wal Mart who read your iirst name right off your check. They always surprise me. I think I’m supposed to know them, so I peek at their name tags slyly and say, “Hi, Marsha,” or “Karen,” or whatever, and then they think I’m a fruit loop. Where I come from, you don’t call people by their first names until you ’ ve seen them cry or vomit—whichever comes first. But there was Jeff — sincere and helpful every lime my friends and I scrounged up enough quarters to split a hoagie. I wondered what the catch was, careful not to sign anything and al Hardened by 20 years of harsh, big city life in Omaha, I didn’t trust this stranger’s friendliness. ways checking my pizza for small, sharp objects — maybe a razor blade or two leftover from Halloween candy. Little by little, I stopped doubting Jeffs sincerity. I left my jaded mask at the door. I started to believe that maybe Jeff and the rest of the friendly da Vinci’s staff act like they care about my pizza because they really DO care about my pizza. Maybe Jeff is just doing his job right, Or, maybe he’s a weirdo with no firm grip on the real world. But, does it really matter? I don’t think so. This is what matters — I can go into daVinci’s and order “the usual.” I always order something different so I may not get exactly what I want, but Jeff will remember what I ordered last lime. He cares. For example, I used to order daVinci’s meatball sandwiches. Then I realized that I didn’t really like meatball sandwiches — that I’d pre fer pizza instead. Concerned, Jeff approached our table to ensure that I hadn’t had a bad experience with a meatball sandwich. How’s that for service? I was impressed. I used to eat Burger King chicken sandwiches regularly until I discovered a cartilage-like lump in my chicken a few years ago. None of the BK clan has ever slopped to ask why I quit ordering chicken. It> nice to go somewhere where everybody knows your name. When Jeff is on duty, da Vinci ’ s is the closest you can get to Cheers without getting drunk or putting up with that annoy ing actress who played Diane. And I like it it when people—even complete strangers who just want to sell me pizza — act happy to see me. Heck, this is a cold world. Every day I encounter people at this university — co-workers and classmates — whom I don’t even feel comfortable waving to. The end is near down on 13th and Q. They’re taking life one pizza, one month at a time, waiting for the day the university finally gives them the boot and doesn’t renew their lease. They’re going to build a park there. I guess it could be a lot worse. They could be replacing da Vinci’s with a low-level radioactive waste site or cryptic sculpture. Maybe it will even be a nice park. I have nothing against parks, espe cially if they have swing setg, Butyou can’t go to a park and be greeted by name. You can’t go to a park and order “the usual.” Jeff said he and the rest of the 13 th and Q staff would have jobs at other da Vinci’s locations, or maybe even in a new building. At least they won’t all be living on the streets or sleeping on benches in the new park. And, sooner or later, I’ll find some place else to go where I feel wanted, where I belong, where people know me by name. Until then, I can always go to Wal-Mart and write a few checks. Rowell is a junior news-editorial, adver tising and English rn^jor and a DaHy Nebras kan columnist ... ■ —.- ■■■ -- While I appreciated Paul Kocster’s two letters (DN, March 17, 1993), I also believe there is more to the story. The primary problem is not the measles, low birth rates or infant mortality; it is poverty. With the effects of poverty wreak ing havoc on our country, the ques tion, then, is what to do about it. While liberals seem to enjoy painting a picture of conservatives as uncaring and unforgiving tyrants, this is simply not true. We care as deeply as anyone. The difference is that our beliefs about the solutions are much different. As a conservative, I believe the best ways to fight poverty are three fold: strengthen families, improve education and create jobs. These are the areas in which the government’s ability to make a difference is nearly zero. The only thing government has proven over history is that it knows how to be part of the problem rather than the solution. Often its attempts at solving social problems simply ends up enhancing them. If you want to further manipulate statistics, since implementing FDR's New Deal leg islation, our government has thrown as much as $3 trillion at poverty and other social programs with little suc cess. Many of our problems have, in fact, worsened, while we continue to spend ourself into bureaucracy. I believe that every human being, if given equal opportunity and given equal access to resources, can suc ceed and prosper. While many liberal leaders pronounce the American dream dead, I intend to teach and show young people from all cultural backgrounds how to pursue success through hard work and using their imaginations. And finallv, while much of society bickers and banters about how I’m too idealistic, about how I don’t know the facts and about how it can’t be done, I will be out doing. Todd Bowman senior secondary education