OPINION
Net>raskan
Monday, October 18,1893
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jeremy Fitzpatrick..
Kathy Steinauer....
Wendy Mott.
Todd Cooper..
Chris Hopfensperger
Kim Spurlock.
Kiley Timperley ....
I m inui \i
Sad but true
. .. Editor, 472-1766
Opinion Page Editor
... Managing Editor
.Sports Editor
.. . .Copy Desk Chief
.Sower Editor
Senior Photographer
Sports realities make equity impossible
Gender equity in athletics is a hot issue at UNL and other
universities and colleges across the country. In its August
1993 report, the NCAA said equity should provide male and
female athletes equal opportunities for scholarships, benefits and
services.
The need for gender equity is obvious when some NCAA statistics
arc studied. Men’s athletic programs received 70 percent of athletic
scholarships and 77 percent of operating budgets.
These figures show the idea behind gender equity in athletics is a
valuable one that echoes a desire for equality throughout society.
Women and men should be given equal opportunities in all aspects
of life.
But the reality is that this may be impossible to implement iivNU
sports. The facts show that football makes more money than any
other sport, especially in comparison to women’s athletics. This may
be unfair and unbalanced, but it is reality.
The idea of equal opportunity may be plausible at UNL and in
other universities’ athletic programs. Men and women deserve the
same type of scholarship programs, training programs and facilities.
But the idea of having equal budgets and numbers of scholarships
will be difficult to work out.
For example, footbal I requires a larger number of athletes than any
women’s sport, which automatically puts women at a disadvantage.
Like it or not, football is a much more popular sport at many schools
than many women’s programs and requires a greater number of
scholarships and athletes than several women’s athletic programs
combined.
Working toward gender equity is a worthy idea. However, the
realities of collegiate sports programs cannot be forgotten.
Regent pets
NU engineering programs study is a waste
The NU Board of Regents approved a list of consultants Friday
to study Nebraska’s engineering programs and suggest solu
tions if problems arc found.
That is the formal purpose of the consultants. But some regents
apparently have already decided what the consultants should recom
mend.
Regents Nancy O’Brien of Waterloo and Rosemary Skrupa of
Omaha both said they thought the study should be focused on
providing the University of Nebraska at Omaha with its own
engineering college. Skrupa proposed an amendment to have the
consultants look specifically at establishing an engineering college
at UNO.
“If this study docs not address the particular issue of an indepen
dent engineering college in Omaha, then it’s a sham,” O’Brien said.
Regent Charles Wilson of Lincoln countered their arguments by
offering an amendment requiring the consultants to look at separate
colleges in other parts of Nebraska.
“Why not put that in as well as the Omaha engineering college
suggestion?” Wilson said.
Both amendments failed, but the list of consultants was approved.
The regents will proceed with their plan to study NU’s engineering
programs. r
The study is a waste of time and money. NU already has an
engineering program at UNL. In a time of budget cutbacks, NU does
not need an engineering college at UNO.
The regents should terminate the study and turn their attention to
issues that matter to NU instead of personal pet projects.
I III H >l<l \l l’< >1 l< \
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 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 II I K l*< M I< N
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Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
Football
Chris Dingman stated thathedidn’t
care “which Huskcr suffered a hang
nail in practice,” referring to sports
articles giving injury reports. He then
went on to say that he “and the other
23,999 students on this campus sim
ply don’t care.” To my knowledge,
Chris never called me and asked my
op in ion. Ob v iousl y he d idn ’ t because
I do care.
The football team is interesting,
and I like to keep up on what’s hap
pening and who is injured, and I know
that a lot of people share my opinion.
Rick Tast
junior
criminal justice
Capital punishment
Maybe Mark Mercer (DN,Oct. 14)
should enroll in a criminal justice
survey course soon so he could stop
misstating “his” facts. No consistent
data exists to prove capital punish
ment works as a deterrent, only as
angry retribution. Furthermore, he may
learn that there is a supportable argu
ment that capital punishment has not
been color blind.
Maybe we should leave retribution
to the Good Lord, and Mark could
deal with an education. Pure and sim
ple. Check the facts, Mark, not your
opinion.
Bryan McBride
graduate student
unclassified
Triangles
I’m going to put a pink triangle on
my door. Truth to tell, 1 really don’t
want to encourage everybody I know
to be entirely open about their sexual
ity. I also fear the pink triangle will
make me suspicious in the eyes of
some. It may even have some impact
on peoples’ perception of my wife
and sons. Still, J don’t sec very many
options.
In sending out the pink triangle
stickers, Eric Jolly forced me to
choose. With the power of his posi
tion, he held a hoop in front of me and
every other faculty member and told
us tojump through it. He can say all he
wants about giving the freedom to
choose whether or not to use the stick
er, but there was no freedom. We
HAD to choose. We could jump from
left to right or right to left, but we had
tojump through Dr. Jolly’s hoop.
I could have decided not to put the
sticker up and told my colleagues and
my students that 1 am not open and
supportive of all of them. Or I could
put it up and hope that it is understood
as evidence of a desire to be kind, fair
and supportive — even if the same
can not oe said of the University
Affirmative Action Office.
Peter Bleed
professor of anthropology
Li i 11 us in ihi I'm iok
Gay rights
I am sick and tired of the gay rights
movement, and 1 feel that enough is
enough. After hearing and reading
about the protest at the Green Gateau
(DN, Oct. 13), I am sickened and
disillusioned at the current state of
affairs in Lincoln and the nation as a
whole.
Every special interest group is
screaming for special rights for this
minority or that, and now there is a bill
James Mehsiing/DN
to “protect the jobs of homosexuals."
Is this garbage really necessary?
The only thing that this bill will do is
give the homosexual community the
power to scream prejudice and bias
whenever a member of the gay and
lesbian community is fired from his or
herjob regardlcssofthc reason. Please
don’t try to tell me otherwise. After
the many years of the dcbaclcd Affir
mative Action movement, the evi
dence is clear.
As far as I am concerned. Scan
Boltc was fairly fired from the Green
Gateau. I was fired from a university
job because of scheduling conflicts
because 1 needed a day off for finals.
An associate dean later ruled that I
was unfairly fired, but no one both
ered to tell me. Did 1 have a special
rights platform to stand upon and
scream? No. Why? Because I am a
young, white, heterosexual male.
1 am created equal with everyone
else in this world whether they are
red, white, black, yellow, male, fe
male or homosexual. It becomes ri
diculous that laws be created merely
to service a small slice of the Ameri
can population. Perhaps Sean Boltc
should have tried harder to meet the
needs of his employer's schedule.
On a last note, 1 find it offensive to
be served by effeminate waiters. Flam
ing sexuality, regardless of the swing,
has no place in the work en vironmen t.
Jason A. Beineke
junior
English
Kissing
The College Republicans last
Wednesday sold kisses to raise funds.
If you think about the message, mon
ey for a physical act, it hints of pros
titution—or at least a transition to it,
kind of like cigarettes being a transi
tion to harder drugs. Free enterprise
aside, doesn’t the Republican Party
frown on prostitution?
J.D. Makinson
graduate student
engineering
Homecoming
Jennifer Putensen, your sense of
bewilderment on why minority lead
ers do not apply for homecoming
royalty (DN, Oct. 12) amuses me. As
a “campus leader” and homecoming
candidate, one might assume you
would be more concerned with find
ing the answers and solutions to why
minority leaders do not apply than
blaming their lack of participation in
the application process.
I can suggest one possible answer.
Could it be that minority leaders and
a large portion of UNL students can
not imagine themselves justifying to
someone why they should be home
coming king or queen without laugh
ing aloud?
What exactly does being a mem
ber of the “royal court” symbolize to
our campus in the ’90s? A group of
people who think they deserve to be
honored? Docs walking on the field at
halftime in all your splendor serve
some purpose other than tickling your
relatives and friends cheering in the
stands?
1 can acknowledge that the court
has contributed to the university
through high academic standards and
involvement in organizations. Per
haps your time would be better spent
in continued service to the many needy
organizations and projects at UNL
and in Lincoln than in filling out
applications as to why you deserve to
be honored.
Your choice is your prerqgative,
but maybe the minority leaders who
did not apply did not have the need to
blow their own hom. Perhaps the whole
homecoming selection process needs
to be examined. Maybe in order to
include everyone, it should be a selec
tion process instead of an application
process.
I have trouble believing that stu
dent voters take into account the qual
ifications and achievements when
casting their ballots.
1 can only hope that in the future
students will have solved these prob
lems and homecoming candidates w ill
not longer feel the need to defend
their royalncss.
Bradd Schmeichel
senior
psychology •
