Net>raskan
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jeremy Fitzpatrick..
Kathy Steinauer....
Wendy Mott.
Todd Cooper.
Chris Hopfensperger
Kim Spurlock.
Kiley Timperley
... Editor. 472-1766
Opinion Page Editor
... Managing Editor
...... Sports Editor
....Copy Desk Chief
..Sower Editor
Senior Photographer
I 1)1 K>RI \l
Fair trade
China deserved economic sanctions
The U.S. government finally came through Wednesday and
did something it should have done long ago.
The United States placed economic sanctions on China
after concluding that Chinese companies had violated internation
al arms control agreements by selling missile technology to
Pakistan.
U.S. law requires that sanctions oe applied tor violations or tne
Missile Technology Control Regime, which bars the transfer of
missiles with a range of more than 186 miles.
But China says the M-l 1 is not covered by this document and
has not signed the agreement. However, the country had agreed to
abide by the regulations to avoid trade sanctions.
The sanctions imposed Wednesday mean a two-year ban on
exports of U.S. technology to China. This will cost American
companies an estimated $400 million to $500 million.
U.S. leaders have contemplated issuing these sanctions for
months. But this is not why this action is long overdue.
Sanctions should have been imposed about four years ago
when Chinese government troops rolled tanks into Tiananmen
Square, killing many Chinese students who were there because
they wanted democratic reform and a voice in their government.
The United States should have shown its opposition to this
blatantly inhumane act sooner. No government should be allowed
to kill its own people.
But because our government did not protest this act with
sanctions then, these new sanctions are all the more necessary.
And in a time where the global situation is unstable, it is
obviously unsafe and dangerous to have powerful missile technol
ogy transferred randomly around the world. Pakistan could easily
become involved in a conflict and the issue of whether these
missiles were rightly and legally obtained would become impor
tant
Iraq obtained Silkworm missiles from China. These missiles
presented a threat to U.S. forces during the Gulf War. Continued
sales of arms by China to other nations could further threaten U.S.
troops in the future.
The sanctions may cost American companies some profit. But
the dangers China has presented by selling missile technology,
and the past wrongs China has committed in the Tiananmen
Square killings, show sanctions were vital to punish China for its
mistakes.
People’s fort
Judge wronged Citadel student
In Charleston, S.C. this week, a battle is being fought that
should have been won long ago.
A federal appeals court judge on Tuesday blocked a
woman from enrolling at the Citadel until it hears more evidence
on whether she should be allowed into the state-supported college.
A U.S. district judge had ruled earlier this month that the 18
year-old Shannon Faulkner could enroll in classes but not partici
pate in the corps of cadets while her sex discrimination suit
against the college was heard.
Now Faulkner will have to start over in her fight to attend the
college. That is a miscarriage of justice.
Attending the state-supported Citadel is a right Faulkner
deserves.
If the college was privately funded, the case would be different.
But Faulkner has every right to attend a college that is supported
by state tax dollars paid by both men and women.
I 1)1 I < Mil \i i’< »i i< \
SufT editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 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 ofRegents. Editorial columns represent
the opinion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the (JNL
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
l'< >1 l< \
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 rejec t all material submitted. Readers
also are welcome to submit material as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material
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Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 6S5SS-044*.
M \ II /1 M MI KM W
UNL needs student involvement
Those of you that have suffi
ciently recovered from back
to-school shock may have
noticed the changes that have gone
into effect over the summer. Yetagain,
the budget ax took a swipe at our
lovely campus, and once again we’ll
be returning to a school that offers a
bit less and is a bit less capable of
performing its tasks.
You’d never know it, though, if
you listened to the power players in
this entertaining budget show. The
newest budget cuts have been
squashed! The university is saved!
We finally have made a commitment
to higher education!
Hardly. Everyone seemed to have
conveniently forgotten the multi-mil
lion dollar cuts from ’92-’93 that we
were still on the hook for. The echo of
self-congratulations from this great
victory was deafening, but the real
question was apparently drowned out:
Where do we go from here?
Backpedaling is never a very ef
fective way to move forward, but
that’s what we’re trying to do. Chan
cellor Spanier made a comment earl i
er this year opposing the $14 million
of proposed cuts, saying “Any time
you reduce the university’s budget by
a couple million dollars, we can’t
claim we’re emerging as a better in
stitution.” How true. Nevertheless,
we are doing remarkably little to re
gain the ground that has been lost in
recent years.
A 5 percent increase in tuition is a
good first step, but it is ridiculously
inadequate. Essentially, it was a PR
move designed to fool people into
thinking something was truly being
done.
The basic problem remains. Keep
ing tuition low is clearly a much greater
priority than keeping the quality of
education high. How could the $14
million worth of proposed cuts have
gotten as far as it did if this wasn’t
true?
It’s nice to think that UNL should
be able to provide a quality, big
university education at a low price to
anyone in the state who wants it. One
has to be realistic, though, and make
some tough choices. The regents and
the legislature apparently have decid
ed that quality should be the first to
go. I disagree.
It’s a nice thought that UNL
should be able to provide a
quality, big-university education at
a low price to anyone in the state
who wants it. You have to be
realistic, though, and make some
tough choices.
Because of the recently implement
ed faculty cuts and loss or defunding
of student support services like
ADAPT, the Academic Success Cen
ter and the Writing Lab, many stu
dents will find it more difficult to
make it through a degree program.
Not only will the top high school
graduates see UNL as a less appeal ing
institution because of lower quality
and fewer programs, the average stu
dent will be more inclined to go to a
school that provides more support and
assistance. Ironically, the people who
are supposed to gain the most from
low tuition could actually end up be
ing the ones turned off by it.
So who’s to blame? Gov. Nelson?
Maybe the Legislature? They certain
ly haven’t helped matters much. It’s
easy to point the finger at them, and
most people are doing just that. Un
fortunately, they are just reflecting
what the people of the state ofNebras
ka think.
Our government is not dedicated
to higher education because its con
stituency isn’t I don’t know how many
times this summer I read or heard,
“The university is the largest employ
er in the state, so you guys should take
the biggest cuts.’’ Disturbing senti
ment from a populace that should
realize its stake in the education of its
children.
No, we can’t blame the govern
mental higher-ups because I don’t
believe they think a problem exists.
Enrollment remains nigh, tuition re
mains low. Everything^ all right.
We need to look a little closer to
home if we want to find a scapegoat
for our problems. The source of Jl of
the problems concerning budget cuts
and the lack of funds, my fellow stu
dents, is you.
The obvious reason that Gov.
Nelson and the Legislature don’t take
our demands seriously is that we have
no demands. When we want some
thing, it’s more like a whimpering
request or a polite suggestion. The
student body hasn’t demanded a thing
in all of the time I’ve been here.
A former lobbyist for the Govern
ment Liaison Committee remarked
after the defeat of the recent cuts that
Mif students wouldn’t have rallied, the
$ 14 million would have been closer to
reality.” Nice idea, but I would hardly
call a march of 150 students, 0.6
percent of the student population, a
groundswell of support and unity.
Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheart
edly applaud the marchers, the mem
bers of student government and the
student lobbyists who stood up and
fought for all of us. These people are,
un fortunately, the extreme except ion.
Get involved this year. If you are
halfway serious about the future of
this school, call Chancellor Graham
Spanier and demand more tuition in
creases. We are paying unbelievably
low amounts of money to attend this
school in comparison to students at
similar schools across the country.
And besides, you tend to care more
about something when you are paying
the real price for it.
Don’t let something like prayer at
graduation be the most important is
sue in the student consciousness this
semester. It already has been the last
two semesters. Your future is at stake
here. Whether or not you say a prayer
at graduation will not have a signifi
cant impact on your future. Don t
allow our current decline to continue,
or you may be saying the same thing
about your education.
Zlauaanaaa to a jaator Eaglbk «*Jor
aad a Dally Nebraska* cahmabt.
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a brief letter to the editor and sign it (don’t forget your student ID number)
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