Opinion
Neljraskan
Thursday, Saptambar 9,1993
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 ChieJ
...... Sower Editor
Senior Photographer
I Dl IOKI W
Get real
New surgeon general sets worthy goals
The U.S. Senate showed it is ready to deal with real and
important health issues by confirming Dr. Joycelyn Elders
as surgeon general.
The confirmation was debated for several hours Thursday
night and was set back a month ago by some Republican
senators. Despite the wait, Elders will get the chance to share
her views on abortion rights, condom distribution and sex
education.
After being confirmed, Elders emphasized her role as a
healer. She said she wants to “look forward ... to a time ...
when all American children are immunized, when all American
citizens have the security of quality health care and when all
dread diseases are a distant and haunting memory.”
Some senators said they disagreed with her views, which
they considered to be outside the political mainstream. But
immunized children and a stop to the spread of diseases like
AIDS should not be considered political issues.
Perhaps these senators should look at the real situations
surrounding them. For example, teen-age pregnancy has
become an enormous problem in the United States. Sex
education can only help youths understand the circumstances
that can arise when they decide to have sex.
Senators also know the surgeon general does not set policy.
This is probably why Elders’ nomination was not delayed
further. Instead, Elders’ job will be primarily to promote
awareness of health issues.
w Un<3biiCt£my Elders wtiT continue her mtisade forme Mes
She has strongly supported in the past. Maybe the policy
makers will listen to Elders’ suggestions and work to make
them more than just ideas.
No kidding
Youth offender plan s benefits defeat costs
If the recommendations of Nebraska’s Youth Services
Planning Commission are followed, minors who get into
trouble with the law may have a better chance of being
rehabilitated.
The commission is developing a report that will be submitted
to Gov. Ben Nelson and the Legislature on reforming how
juvenile offenders are treated in Nebraska. A preliminary copy of
the report argues that Nebraska’s current system is not responsive
to the needs of youth or to public safety.
The plan envisions a system that would be aimed at
rehabilitation of youth instead of simple retention.
Juvenile offenders in Nebraska now are put on probation or
incarcerated at an adult prison or a training school. The
commission’s report recommends giving the state more options
for dealing with youth who have been convicted of crimes.
Individual treatment plans involving the participation of family
members, foster homes and group homes are options
recommended in the report as alternatives to traditional methods
of correction. The report also recommends creating an Office of
Youth Services to coordinate programs for the state’s juvenile
offenders.
The Youth Services Planning Commission’s preliminary
suggestions are sound and should be acted on by Gov. Nelson and
the Legislature. If more youth could be rehabilitated and taken out
of the revolving-door criminal justice system, fewer of them
would be back.
The plan will likely cost more money than Nebraska’s current
system, but that cost will be made up in the future by the number
of youths who won’t hav^^oncarcerated as adults.
I IH KM<I \l I'M l< \
Staff 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 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 io the hands of
its students.
I I I i< l’( >1 If \
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 matorial 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 submission* will not be
published. Letters should included the author’s name, year in school, major and group
affiliation, if any. Requests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily
Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68S88-0448.
m> ysbelkcm so? wsnm
ms mss>fitekucto
m> w„.
■vf,.
Q9? AV^OtlWOHitWlR
fU
WKWMIRH&.
sr\r
M\l I /IMMI RMW
Network news yellows with ag
In this age of hundreds of cable
channels where channel-surfing
I has been raised to an art form, it
would seem logical that everyone
would be able to find a niche in TV
land. I know, I know, TV isn’t exactly
high art, and being in college and all
should keep us occupied 24 hours a
day, but let’s admit it. We all indulge
ourselves a bit more than we should.
Give me a week-long Seinfeld
marathon, and my textbooks won’t
see the light of day. Letterman’s new
show hasn’t helped a bit, either.
Competition for viewers gets pretty
fierce among the different channels,
and more often Wan Wfty.
Desperation among the networks is
always fun to watch, and sweeps week
is certainly a treat, provided you can
stomach it.
In recent months, though, the
intelligence level on television has
sunk lower than normal, if that’s
possible. For someone who likes to
create the illusion of being a
responsible, well-informed adult, I
quickly realized that I couldn’t rely
on the network news to obtain even a
basic grasp of what was really going
on in the world. They were too busy
generating their own news and taking
minor stories and blowing them way
out of proportion. 1 was, well, shocked.
As summer has begun to reach its
final stages, a few real stories have
surfaced on the international scene
and have finally returned some sense
into the national consciousness. But
just so we don’t forget the good times
we had keeping up with nothing over
the past few months. I’ve taken it
upon myself to compile a list of the
top five non-stories of the year. Oh, to
relive those exciting times once again.
No. 5: The “Dateline NBC7GM
truck fiasco. Did they really think that
they would get away with this? Sure
GM trucks will burst into flame when
NBC, heh heh, sets fire to them first.
It’s one thing to exaggerate aproblem.
It’s quite another to invent one. This
one could have cost GM millions in
Sure GM trucks will burst Into fla
when NBC, heh heh, sets fire to
them first. It’s one thing to
exaggerate a problem. It’s quite
another to Invent one. This one
could have cost GM millions In P
Hopefully, It will cost NBC more.
PR. Hopefully, it will cost NBC more.
No. 4: Gays in the military. No, no,
not the entire issue, but the alleged
homosexual pornography ring in
canmwitt: trnhSftKalhiiitorv omctais
told reporters that'they believed that a
number of enlisted men were
participating in the production of
explicit homosexual pornographic
videos being sold in the area.
The evidence? Er, well, the men in
the videos had military-style haircuts.
No, really. Rather pathetic of the
networks to run a story like this that
was obviously manufactured to cast
doubton the new gays-in-the-military
first place to make the charges?
No. 3: Gen. John Shalikashvili.
Clinton’s choice to replace Gen. Colin
Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff was hit with accusations that
his father was a member of Hitler’s
SS. There is little evidence to support
the claim, but if indeed it is true, so
what? Defense Secretary Les Aspin
doesn’t care. Sen. Carl Levin of the
Armed Services Committee who will
vote on Shalikashvili’s nomination
doesn’t care. The Simon Wiesenthal
Center, a Los Angeles-based Nazi
hunting organization doesn’t even
care. Being victimized for the sins of
your father generally died out long
ago. Nevertheless, it was one of the
top stories on all the networks.
No. 2: Heidi Fleiss. So she ran a
prostitution ring ami slept with a
handful of Hollywood’s elite. This is
big news? I thought the rest of the
country already saw Hollywood in
this kind of light. I’m sure we
be mortified if and when we i
of the people involved. Then
probably not. Come on, guys.
made-fbr-TV movie’ihtt grtf
your system.
And the No. 1 non-story (so
1993 is... the Michael Jackson
abuse story. Good Lord, leave
man alone. Stories like this des
careers whether they are true or
and this one has looked like
extortion or slander case from
beginning. No charges have been ftl
and no evidence has been present*
so knock off the witch hunt,
someone who does not listen
Jackson’s music and who loo
forward to a Jackson concert as mui
as root canal work, I still think he’
getting the shaft on this one. If the:
isn’t any real evidence, don’t run it.|
Just because the Star and th
National Enquirer run a story doesn’i
mean the “legitimate press” has to.
forget who it was, but last fall durin
the presidential race, a major T
newsman said the network didn’t like
running the Gennifer Flowers story.
But since “A Current Affair” and
other tabloid TV programs had already
done it and gotten the issue into the
national spotlight, his network was
obliged to do so, too. I don’t think so.
I didn’t see any arm-twisting going
on. If the tabloids want to jump off a
cliff... you should show them the
quickest way, not follow in their
footsteps.
ZiBMnua la a jailor Eagllih nojor
■ad a Dally Nabraskaa colunaiit.
I I I 11 us in i mi; I in mu
Apollo 009
After reading the story on the
Apollo 009 space capsule and its
troubled history (DN, Sept. 3), I was
reminded of an idea that 1 had last year
when the administration was trying to
find it a new home. Instead of storing
it away in a shed or giving to another,
more caring archive, why not find a
suitable place to display it here at
UNL?
Imagine this: Place the capsule on
one of the corner mezzanines in the
Bob Devaney Sports Arena. Place a
sign next to it describing the capsule’s
history and possible futures. Then
place a box next to the capsule asking
for donations to be used for restoration
and a permanent display. Think about
it. There’s plenty of room. It’s a
controlled climate. Thousands of
people would see it every year during
basketball pames, gymnastics meets,
the state fair and other activities. The
capsule might even pay for its own
restoration; and even if it did not, its
display would at least be in the spirit
for which it was donated to UNL in
the first place: to educate the people
of Nebraska.
Michael A. Amundson
graduate student
history
Somalia
In response to Fitzpatrick’s Sept. 3
DN editorial concerning American
involvement in Somalia, it is apparent
that yet another American citizen has
been blinded by yet another of our
government’s smoke screens. I agree
with him when he says, “Clinton has
yet to sufficiently explain the role of
American forces in Somalia"; but the
idea that it “was no doubt well
motivated" is suspect and begs the
question, to serve what end?
Anyone who buys the slogan
“operation hope" probably still
believes in “operation dope" in
Panama or that we were saving those
poor misguided Nicaraguans from
themselves by blowing up their
hospitals and schools. Obviously we
are there to make sure the “right side"
wins.
Tim Janda
English department
