Opinion Friday, April 23, 1993
Nel?raskan
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
“The greatest way for us to realize a better
future is by cooperation, so America can once
again be saved. ”
— Hillary Rodham Clinton, first lady, explaining why the U.S.
health-care system needs to be reformed.
“Hey, hey, ho, ho. Socialism’s got to go.
— Demonstrators outside the Lied Center for Performing
Arts protesting Clinton's proposals.
“One has to wonder about young Republicans
engaging in this kind of stuff this early. In the
Nixon-Watergate case, most of the dirty tricks
were perpetrated by people who practiced and
honed out their dirty tricks in college. ”
— Bill Avery, Young Democrats adviser, pondering the
actions of members of UNL College Republicans who were
elected to offices in Young Democrats.
“You can ask a lot of people about my long
standing opposition to apathy on this campus.
(Encouraging involvement) was our intention. ”
— Chris Peterson, a member of UNL College Republicans,
offering his reasons for running for president of Young Demo
crats.
“Write in the margins, 'Check this out. ’ That
way you don’t wind up with a negative image of
yourself, and you won’t wind up Clarence-ized. ’’
— Motefi Asante, a professor1df African studies at Temple
University, discussing the lack of attention to the achievements
of Africans in traditional classes.
“When it happens, the neighbors will all cheer,
and the students will all cry. ’’
— Bill Kennedy, who plans to tear down the Cherry Hut.
“The Stanford coach says they train for one
meet all year. He said that Nebraska worries too
much about scoring consistently all season
long. That’s bull_ .
“Our system works. I have seven (national)
trophies, and he has two. ”
“These guys competed. Sure, they’re disap
pointed. But they’re 21 years old. They’re not
going to die.
“We’ll just win it next year. ”
— Francis Allen, Nebraska men's gymnastics coach, after
the favored Comhuskers lost to Stanford in the finals of the
NCAA Championships for the second year in a row.
“LSD was an auxiliary technique for checking
myself out. It wasn’t that we used drugs — or I
didn’t — every day. I took acid maybe a dozen
times, you know every couple of years, just to see
the map or the landscape, then maybe come down
to Earth and figure out what to do with the Infor
mation
— Allen Ginsberg, poet, explaining his drug use as part of his
search for self-knowledge.
“Although nothing in this issue deals directly
with Rush Limbaugh, his lampooning of the Idio
cies of political correctness are models for us.
And I personally worship him."
— Boyd Johnston, president of Students for America and
editor of The Ideal, a new student publication.
-1 - .i
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Waco
I would like to respond to Michelle
Paulman’s column “Waco incident
results in waste” (DN, April 20,1993),
in which she said that organized faith
would cease without the blind follow
ing. She happened to mention Islam
as an organized faith. If she believes
the following of a priest as a spokes
person for God means an organized
faith, then Islam is not an organized
faith. In Islam no one can determine
the will of God for someone and lead
his followers as in other religions she
mentioned. Surprisingly, she did not
mention Judaism. Maybe Judaism is
not an organized faith as well.
More human beings have been
killed in the name of nationalism,
racism and for the sake of political
and economic interest. For example,
look at WWI, WWII, the Gulf War
and revolutions in China and Russia.
I believe that misuses of religion arc
possible but they do not happen very
often. Even in the case of the genoe idc
of Bosnian Muslims, religion has not
played a major role. This is true that
the United Nations has clearly treated
Croats and Muslims differently even
though it is a secular organization and
no church has publicly endorsed the
actions of Serbs as Christian actions.
I believe that anyone who protests
against injustice and genocide, re
gardless of his background, should be
given similar credit. If democracy is
supported in China, then it should be
supported in all parts of the world.
Affiliation to a religion is often con
demned as being fundamentalist.
Quileoften it is an attempt to discredit
.claims of one group and deprive it
from basic human rights. For example,
Serb leaders said that Serbs will not
accept the Islamic fundamentalist
government of Bosnians (to keep up
the arms embargo on Bosnians) in
order to justify his groups atrocities
and rapes. The government of Egypt
does not hold elections to prevent the
• Islamic fundamentalists from gelling
any share of power. Democratic gov
ernments do support such dictators’
rule in the name of democracy. Un
fortunately , most of the religious-pho
bic people support one kina of aggres
sion against (ear of possible future
aggression which might happen or
might not happen at all.
It is time for us to make rational
decisions and to ask some fundamen
tal questions of ourselves. We cannot
punish a human being before the crime
even if his genetic code indicates
clearly that he is going to murder
someone. In fact, use of religion is not
more sophisticated than that of na
tionalism or any other ideology.
Syed Agha Sered
senior
engineering
David Baddws/DN
TVicks
I am writing in regard to Bill
Avery’s comments about how Re
publicans get started at such an early
age with their “dirty tricks’’ and how
he also commented that “one has to
wonder about young Republicans en
gaging in this kind of stuff this early.”
I would like to comment on how one
also has to wonder how the College
Republicans lost two of four races,
vice president and secretary, when
they had eight representatives com
pared to just six for the Young Demo
crats. How did they lose despite their
majority at the meeting? Was there
cheating and a lack of morality in
volved in this election process, Mr.
Avery? Isn’t it a shame that Demo
crats, as right as they often think they
arc, have to resort to this kind of
shameful scam just to try to save their
face?
It is too bad that you don’t applaud
something such as the enthusiasm
that some young students have taken
toward legitimate student activities.
Perhaps, Professor Avery, you would
like young students to follow the ex
amples our president has set forth.
Ones of which we all smoke pot, burn
our country’s flag and avoid our
country’s draft. Or better yet, maybe
we could all get drunk and drive our
carsoff a local bridge, kill an innocent
woman, save ourselves, go to bed that
sameevening and tell the public about
it the next day and still get off scot
free. .
Itis humorous that you would com
pare Chris Peterson and Rob Bryant
with the Watergate scandal, especially
in light of the fact that Richard Nixon
now has a higher approval rating than
that of our newly elected president.
It is a shame that at Professor
Avery’s age he still hasn’t seen the
light of conservatism, but I guess
some people never grow up.
Chris J. Kodad
junior
architecture
‘Anticipation’
So the editors of the rag arc mad
that Republicans Rob Bryant and Chris
Peterson were elected to office in
Young Democrats (DN, April 19,
1993). Why? According to statements
made by Pat Adams, First District
chairperson of Nebraska Young
Democrats, the Young Democrats
knew that there were Republicans at
the meeting: “Let’s find out if they’re
serious about joining Young Demo
crats.” Mr. Adams said his initial
reaction to the attendance of the Re
publicans was one of anticipation.
11 tv 11 Dili nvuj, i uuiig »/vh>u
era is adviser (also aware of the atten
dance of the Republicans), said, .*
they only showed they are capable of
cheating and deception.” (Gennifer
Rowers, “I did not inhale”)* He con
tinued, “It’s distressing to see that
these kids are engaging in it (dirty
tricks) this early. You re right, Mr.
Avery, they should have followed
President Clinton’s example and
waited until they were older, as if it
were acceptable to engage in “dirty
tricks” at any age. Then he compares
Peterson and Bryant to the criminals
involved in Watergate.
Come on people, you knew who
these people were, you let them in
your organization, pay your dues, run
for office and be elected. Take your
medicine, jusl like the rest of us ( 1
will not raise taxes to pay for these
programs,”“The tax raises willonly
affect those making over $200,000. )*
At least a majority voted for Peterson
and Bryant (compared with less than
45 percent for slick Willie).
We are willing to bet that atten
dance at future Young Democrats
meetings will increase, considering
the addition of one Democrat would
increase attendance by 17 percent
(what would Mrs. Clinton think.).
The only people that should be angry
with this situation are the six Demo
crats who did show up for the meet
ing. At least they put words into ac
tion and attended the meeting.
Dave Bremer
senior
mechanical engineering
Jim Foral
senior
mechanical engineering