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
