OPTNTON NeflStan
X-L 1 XV^/-i- 1 Thuraday, April 20,1993
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 . *.j.Senior Reporter
Kim Spurlock.. Diversions Editor
Sam Kep field.Columnist
Only the start
Budget cuts make university less effective
The first thing people should realize about the budget cuts
announced Wednesday by UNL Chancellor Graham Spanier
is that they arc wily the beginning. They are the delayed
continuation of what started last year with the hours of budget cut
hearings and debates.
The administration should be commended for coming up with
the newest list of budget cuts without the long, drawn-out process
of last year. But the quiet attractiveness of the new method should
not replace the value of outside input.
The process isn’t over. All the eliminations, all the cutbacks
and all the reductions handle only the 1.5 percent, $2.2 million
cut mandated last fall. They say nothing about the future cuts
being considered by the Legislature right now.
They do say a lot about die future of the university, however.
They say that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is no longer
such a good choice if a student wants to study theater or dance;
the cuts reduced play productions and deleted a portion of the
dance curriculum.
The budget cuts say that summer courses at UNL will no
longer be as effective as they once were; the plan calls for larger
classes and reduced compensation for the instructors.
They say, in effect, that the university is no longer able to help
students the way it cmcc did; the Academic Success Center and
Writing Lab both fell casualty to the new cuts.
But on paper, the budget cuts arc relatively easy to take. They
arc numbers, titles and bottom lines. They aren’t people with
faces and families, but that is exactly who these budget cuts
affect.
The administration must be sure to consult them and the
university students the next time the Legislature’s ax falls.
Labor on
Chavez’s cause must not be abandoned
Wednesday about 60 students, faculty and administrators
gathered to pay tribute to civil rights advocate Cesar
Chavez, who died Friday. The tribute, sponsored by
UNL’s Office of Multi -Cultural Affairs, was held in front of the
Nebraska Union and lasted more than an hour.
Chavez was famous for launching a drive to raise wages and
improve economic conditions among Mcxican-Amcrican farm
workers in the 1960s. He stands as a symbol of the capacity
individuals have in America to change their country.
Marty Ramirez, a counseling psychologist at the University
Health Center, was one of nine speakers at the tribute.
“(Chavez) was not as articulate as Martin Luther King and not
as educated as John F. Kennedy, but what he did for people puls
him in that category,” Ramirez said.
All speakers sounded a common note: the need to remember
and carry on the work to which Chavez devoted his life.
Forgetting Chavez’s work would be a terrible mistake. Part of
the great tragedy in his passing is that there arc so few individuals
willing to work for social justice today. His death leaves a
vacuum in human rights leadership that desperately needs to be
filled.
It is important that we remember and celebrate Cesar Chavez
and what he stood for. It is also important that we work to ensure
that his legacy docs not die.
Stuff editorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1993 Daily Nebraskan. Policy it set
by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the
university, its employees, the students orthe NU Board of Regenu. 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 lias solely in the hands of
iU 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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Tradition and history important
Sunday my family went out to
Hallam to help Grandma get to
her church’s centennial celebra
tion.
Grandma was injured from a fall
and wasn’t sure if she could make it to
the celebration. But she went, and she
was glad she was able to witness this
combination of history and present
day happenings together.
The program was full of songs
from the past, which brought back a
flood of memories for some audience
members and created new memories
for those too young or forgetful to
remember the years gone by. A hun
dred years is a long time.
One lady impressively belted out
the Depression-era standard, “Happy
Days Arc Here Again.” Her demeanor
was determined and a bit melancholic.
Her big, confident voice reminded me
of the gutsy style of Kate Smith sing
ing “God Bless America.”
Of course, as someone else com
mented, some of the emotion emitted
in her performance could be attrib
uted to the physical discomfort caused
by her leg injury. She had to hobble up
to the front with her crutches. If she
was hurting, it only added to the deter- ’
mined courage in my eyes.
Children sang, and we listened.
How much will they remember of this
day, on which they helped bring his
tory alive for their elders? *
There were other entertainers who
sang, but mostly in small groups. They
had differing levels of singing ability
that only added to the experience.
Each freely contributed in his or her
own way, unaffected by the rigorous
demands of a professional perfor
mance.
“I’d Like to Teach the World to
Sing” was entertaining, but it would
have been more pure for the audience
had it not been co-opted by Coca
Cola.
One younger man sang better than
average. He obviously had training
The food was roast
beef, baked
potatoes and green
beans: stuff that real
men and women ate,
maybe even way
back when. And
then, they let us eat
cake.
and talent. His long bair made him
stand apart in a small-town setting
where most men wouldn T perm i t their
hair to grow past their collars.
Aside from the program of songs,
there were memories in the church
basement in the form of pictures, writ
ten accounts and documents. Origi
nally, it was a German-speaking con
gregation because of the high number
of immigrants who had populated the
area. Grandma said they didn’t gel
around to “speaking American’’ until
the year before her confirmation.
Thcrc’sonly one left, she thinks, from
her class of six.
The ranks get thinned out when
you’re 80 years old.
I asked Grandma how she coped as
a youngster when she couldn’t under
stand the forcign-iongucd church ser
vice.
She replied, maller-of-faclly, “It
was boring.” But, still, her parents
made her go. And she liked it.
Today, we seem to have lost that
unquestioning respect for authority.
History puts into context our
present-day doings. By having his
tory, people have vital traditions to
uphold. Religion, even if one denies
it, is strong because of its tradition.
Church members were document
ing the centennial observation itself
by the light of their flash cameras.
One guy even was using a video cam
era with a prolonged view, which
bothered me. I find it hard to look
dignified and act in my ordinary,
mundane manner with a camera (lash
ing in my face. It was fascinating to
look at the historical mementos, but I
found myself reluctant to be pan of a
memento in the making.
Looking back in time prompts me
to also look to the future. What will
they think of us 100 years from now?
What are we as a community starting
these days that will be worth com
memorating with a heartfelt celebra
tion?
We did get that wonderful Wal
Mart up and running this week in
Lincoln. And it was well documented,
with the ribbon cutting and all. Future
shoppers may pay homage to us, who
had the wisdom and thriftiness to
have our discount dreams realized.
Alas, even if Wal-Mart is viable in
old age, it won’t have the meaning
that a venerable church does to its
members in a small community.
After the program, we went to the
town’s gymnasium to eat. The dinner
was paid for by free-will offerings,
made even more honorary because
nobody was stationed to guard the
money bowl. Tito food was roast beef,
baked potatoes and green beans: stuff
that real men and women ate, maybe
even way back when. And then, they
let us cat cake.
On Sunday an institution was made
more relevant by celebrating its his
tory. Tradition is validated by con
tinuing onward.
Burger is a Junior philosophy major and
a Dally Nebraakan columnist.
- I--—
-—-—J
Seating
I would like to express my anger
that the student sealing at football
games has been moved. It seems that
the administration of this university,
as in so many other ways, has lost
sight of the students that attend it.
While I would admit that football
games at UNL have grown bigger
than to be just for the student body, it
is still our university. It should be our
right to keep the seals that have been
assigned to us in the past.
It is unfortunate that only two stu
dents wrote to (UNL Athletic Direc
tor) Bill Byrne about the planned
change of scaling, but outside of the
students groups that he attended, few
that I know of had heard of the plan.
Had I known about it, I would have
written earlier.
1 truly urge the university to con
sider this change. If you thought the
student sections were rowdy when
students had scats good enough to see
the game, wail unul you see us when
we can’t sec the game from our scats.
Michael Bedke
international affairs
. junior
Retraction
On behalf of the women of Alpha
Delta Pi:
Although wc have a few members
associated with the Students for
America organization, wc are not pro
moting the ideals of their newspaper
as a house. We were unaware that our
name was appearing in the First issue.
Wc respect the right of individuals to
hold and express their own opinions.
Although all of our members arc stu
dents "for America," wc have differ
ent ways of supporting our country’s
diversity.
Kimberly Arvin
president
Alpha Delta Pi
