Opinion
Net?raskan
Friday, Saptambar 3,1933
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 III I OKI \|
Lost in space
Apollo 009 sits unappreciated in storage
Once again, UNL’s own Apollo 009 space capsule is in the
news.
But the news is that nothing has changed. The University
of Nebraska-Lincoln is still holding on to the craft but doing
nothing with it.
The capsule, which was used in an unmanned suborbital test
flight, is sitting in a rusted old farm building on East Campus.
The spacecraft was in front of Morrill Hall for 20 years before
it was moved to keep it from deteriorating further. Not enough
money has been available to pay for restoring it to decent condi
tion.
UNL owns an important and rare piece of space history, but
rather than fixing it and displaying it prominently, the university
has it in storage.
The other Apollo capsules are on display at renowned space
museums across the country, where they are considered prized
possessions. They are traded between museums across the world
because they are so rare.
An official at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., said
the Apollo crafts were in demand. “There are many folks around
the world that would want it,” he said.
The university has turned down two good offers from the
Kansas Cosmosphere. Once, the cosmosphere offered to take the
capsule off UNL’s hands. The other time, they wanted the capsule
as a trade for other space artifacts. UhQ^hould not reject offers
' Vrtce these when Apollo 009 is left in a warehouse unappreciated.
UNL has repeatedly shown that it does not respect the piece of
history it owns. It is time for the school to give the capsule to
someone who would value it. Then the university might get other
artifacts it could display proudly.
()l Oil s ()l t ill W II K
“We are not forcing foreign students to buy
insurance, we are acting for their own benefit. "
— Kunle Ojikutu, director of the University Health Center,
defending a UNL policy that requires foreign students to purchase
health insurance.
"Nobody’s going to be arrested for not leaving,
but they're probably going to be asked for their
next of kin.”
— Ray Sturza, Dare County, N.C., spokesman, on the ordered
evacuation of up to 100,000 people who live in Hurricane Emily's
path.
“Mr. Bjorklund said he had not done any more
homicides and If he had done more, he'd tell—”
— Lincoln Police Detective Sgt. Greg Sorensen, testifying
during Roger Bjorklund's pretrial evidence-suppression hearings.
Sorensen was interrupted by a motion from Chief Lancaster
County Public Defender Scott Hetvie to seal the courtroom to the
press.
*We played outstanding. We came out on fire. ”
—Nebraska volleyball player Allison Weston, describing the
Comhusker’s performance against Iowa on Wednesday.
“The sooner I get It, the better. It would have
been a lot easier getting the degree at 22 than 42. ”
—Johnny Rodgers, former Nebraska winaback and the 1972
Heisman Trophy winner, who has returned to UNL to complete his
degree.
I III I (>l< I \l IN >l l< \
Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Fall I993 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 regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL
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. *
I I I I I !< I’( l| l< \
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.1! rimy Fitzpatrick
Firepower not answer in Somalia
President Clinton decided to
send more troops to Somalia
last week. Increased attacks
on U.S. and U.N. forces motivated his
decision.
So 400 additional U.S. soldiers
were sent to the desert country. The
troops are elite ranger units, equipped
to handle the special nature of opera
tions in the country.
They will join about 5,000 other
Americans who are currently on duty
in Somalia. Four other American aol
diers who were sent to the country
have already returned home — in
coffins.
Hopefully the new soldiers won’t
meet the same fate. But President
Clinton has yet to sufficiently explain
the role of American forces in Soma
lia. His decision to send additional
troops to the country was no doubt
well motivated, but it was irresponsi
ble.
Somalia has no organized govern
ment and is divided by warlords who
are trying to establish control over the
country.
This is not Iraq. There is no clearly
defined enemy that can be destroyed
with smart bombs that fly into win
dows and neatly destroy buildings.
The enemy in Somalia does not
wear a uniform.
Instead, the adversary the U.S. fac
es in Somalia looks almost exactly
like the friendly citizens we are sup
posed to be helping.
This difficulty was demonstrated
clearly Monday whenU.S. forces raid
ed a villa in Mogadishu, Somalia’s
capital. The elite soldiers performed
their mission perfectly. The nine indi
viduals inside were apprehended and
taken to a U.N. detention center.
Unfortunately, the apprehended
people were U.N. employees, not fore
It would be no surrender and no
dishonor for U.S. forces to leave
Somalia while most of them still
can. If Somalis are unwilling to
stop fighting each other, we
cannot make them.
es loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah
Aidid, as had been thought.
The United States has the best army
in the world. When it has another
army to fight, it will win. But in
Somalia there is no other army. There
are only small bands of gucr n 11 as that
can attack quickly and hide before
U.S. forces can respond.
The United States has been in
volved in conflicts like the one in
Somalia before. Vifctnam and Beruit
are two of the closest examples.
And like in Vietnam and in Beruit,
the United States cannot win in Soma
lia.
But instead of withdrawing from
the country, the United States is con
tinuing to send more troops, mistak
enly believing that more firepower is
the answer. More troops in tne coun
try will only mean more opportunities
for U.S. soldiers to be killed.
If we are lucky, significant U.S.
casualties can be avoided. But if we
are not, a bomb could explode in the
barracks of U.S. forces, or troops on
patrol could be ambushed and killed.
That happened to Pakistani forces in
June.
President Clinton can prevent that
from happening if he refuses to send
any more troops to Somalia.
He would not be backing down.
Quite simply, there is nothing U.S.
forces can do in Somalia except risk
their lives.
There is no goal they can achieve.
There iaiiO'dftffluoHltfi iguwuavua
they can support. There is no way the)®
can win, because there is no finishl
It was different in December, when 1
U.S. forces were sent to Somalia to
open up relief supplies for starving
Somalis.
Then the troops had a clear mis
sion. They had to return a semblance
of order to the country and make sure
Somalis had access to relief supplies.
They accomplished their mission and
most were withdrawn.
Now there is no mission and there
fore no chance of victory.
What can possibly be achieved?
We cannot force the Somalis to form
a government. We cannot force them
to stop fighting each other.
It would be no surrender and no
dishonor for U.S. forces to leave So
malia while most of them still can. If j
Somalis are unwilling to stop fighting
each other, we cannot make them.
Sacrificing U.S. lives to help a people
who increasingly do not want us there
is not the answer.
We have tried and failed before to
enforce peace where it was not want
ed. Hopefully President Clinton will
avoid that costly mistake in Somalia.
Fitzpatrick li a Malar poMckal Klaacc
najor iad the editor of tke Daily Nebraska!.
I I I I I us I () I III | |)| | ou
Preachers
About this time last year, I com
mitted a sin. I gave in to temptation. I
ate of the forbidden fruit, that is, I
succumbed toarguing with the preach
ers in front of Broyhill Fountain.
To have someone condemning the
student body as a whole at the top of
his lungs really pollutes an otherwise
peaceful environment. In light of this,
why shouldn’t one take a stand for
humanity—not to mention the com
passion and humility which seem so
central to Christ’s teachings — and
decry this aggressor? Because doing
. so creates the scene I witnessed Thurs
day afternoon: A crowd of people
rallied around a violent and angry
man, hanging on his every word.
If these men who preach in front of
Broyhill are as self-righteous, close
minded and vicious as we hell-bound
98 percent of the campus accuse them
of being, why do they entertain such
a crowd whenever they pop onto cam
pus? Their opinions are not going to
change, so why must we let them
continually evoke ours? I vote for
passive resistance.
Ben Graham
senior
psychology and English
Marley and barley
Bob Marley, considered by many
to be the father of reggae music, was
more than just a musician; not only
did he speak out against elitism and
white suppression of minorities, but
he also spoke out for equality of all
people.
Although these points are relative
to too many members of the elite
fraternities and sororities, my main
point is the barley issue. Bob Marley
was a Rastafarian, one who followed
a belief that excludes alcohol con
sumption. No doubt he saw the alter
ation of behavior and judgment re
sulting from drinking alcohol, but also
the resultant deaths and negative
health effects as well.
If people want to drink, that’s their
right, and if they want to listen to Bob
Marley’s music, that’s great. If peo
ple want to boast about their beer
drinking excursionson a T-shirt, that’s
their right also, but I hate to see the
man who did so much for Jamaica and
humanity terribly misrepresented.
Paul Koester
senior
soil science
