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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1993)
OPINION Net)raskan WMlnMday, October 20,1003 Net?raskan 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 IOKI \l Five alive New teaching program would benefit UNL The University of Ncbraska-Lincoln is leaving itself out of a national trend in teaching programs. Some universities have started a mandatory five-year program for their education majors, but not UNL. The longer program has some advantages, such as a chance for these students to pursue internships without delaying graduation. The fifth year also allows students to earn credit toward a master’s degree. Both have clear benefits. Internships teach students whether or not they want to pursue teaching because they experience the job more than student teaching allows. Mike Angelotti, associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, said the internships give students a better understanding of what they teach. Master’s degrees are in high demand in the career world. Any credit toward a master’s can get the student off to a running start should he or she decide to pursue a master’s or doctorate degree. UNL should consider extending its Teachers College program to five years. Students currently stay around five years on the average but do not receive the additional benefits of other schools’ five-year programs, such as internships and graduate school credit. One Teachers College student said she thought a five-year program might deter future students from attending UNL, despite the benefits. This should not prevent UNL from implementing the program. Any student who will not attend a university because the program is too demanding is not the type of student UNL should want to attract in the first place. Get out, stay out No U.S. troops should remain in Somalia The White House announced Tuesday that 750 members of an Army Ranger unit would be pulled out of Somalia within the next few days. Those being pulled had the training to participate in the now-aborted hunt for Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The withdrawal reflects the Clinton administration’s desire for a new focus in Somalia. The current goal is not a military one but is instead centered on politics. The withdrawal of the Army Rangers from Somalia makes a lot of sense. If the Rangers’ mission has ended, those troops no longer need to be risking their lives in Somalia. But the move is not entirely positive. The White House said the troops were being ordered out because the 3,600 Marines Clinton ordered to patrol the Somali coast had arrived. Clinton is staying with the plan he announced earlier this month to increase the total U.S. force in Somalia from 4,700 to more than 10,000 troops. Then all U.S. troops arc scheduled to be withdrawn from Somalia by March 31. The removal of the 750 Rangers is not the needed removal of troops it appears to be. Instead, the U.S. presence in Somalia will increase by nearly 4,000 people because of the Marines. The Rangers’ move appears to be a removal step, which is what many in Congress and the public want. Instead, it is only part of Clinton’s plan announced earlier this month. Rather than shuffling the troops around Somalia, Clinton should focus on removing all troops. The U.S. presence is no longer welcome, and no troops should remain in Somalia. I m mm \i i*< h k n 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, reaponsioility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its students. I I I I I It I'OI It \ The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected forpublication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or rejectall material submitted Readers also are welcome to submit material as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material should ran as a guest opinion. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and caqpot be returned. Anonymous submissions 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 68588 0448. wmmm. mmm ’SL pWEl IT mmwmm iddwsouno^to M \KK 1|A1 DKIIH.i: Coercion costs winners, losers 1 think it’s time to talk about coer cion. It's a game that takes subtle forms; we can be bound and led with out being any the wiser. There arc ways to make people comply that have nothing to do with official chan nels. One way to play is through the manipulation of language. Everyone knows the bad guys in Somalia are “warlords,” but what ex actly does that word mean? How does a warlord differ from, say, a “political strong man”? And isn’t that what Noriega was, a strong man? Until later, when he be came a “druglord” and then a “narco gangster," whatever that is. Why was he never “the sovereign of a foreign nation," or even a “dicta tor” or “CIA spook"? The Persian GulfWar was a “Desert Storm,” like some Hollywood pro duction — complete with killer spe cial effects. The Iranians who held American hostages in our own embassy were “students.” So were the martyrs at Tiananmen Square, all of them. What kind of extra credit were these two very dif ferent groups of students working on? When a presidential candidate in Panama was savagely beaten, at least two of the big three networks called the attackers “goons” from the get go* Now, if I were as cynical as some people claim I am, I’d suspect that someone out there wanted me to think of those goons as goons. They want me to be sympathetic to the students, but not the goons, to like Desert Storm, but hate the warlords. What does that mean? It means that someone benefits from manipulating my attention and the attention of our country—some one powerful enough to control the media. That’s more power than a presi dent has, by a long shot. Somewhere in the shadows the real powers pull the strings, and all their puppets dance. It’saform of coercion. It’s not that we’re not allowed to think otherwise —it’s just that the terms of debate arc limited at the outset by players not entirely in the foreground But in trying so hard to hide, they tip their hand: Once we catch on to their ploy we can determine who’s who and what’s really at stake. All you have todo is figure out who has the most to win from the idcolog All you have to do is figure out who has the most to win from the ideological containment of large numbers of people. You read the spin of the story back to the doctor who spun it. ical containment of large numbers of Whole volumes arc spoken in that single obfuscating term, “warlords.’' But one doesn't have to marshal the combined forces of the media to play the coercion game. A very easy way to win is to put opposing players in a lose-lose situa tion. You can feed them information, even facts, formulated in such a way that it shapes the way they react. For instance. I'd guess that 70 per cent of the adult population in this country “knows” tnat: A) You can’t get AIDS from casual contact. B) Everyone is at risk for AIDS. They’ve picked this up from ads and posters they’ve been exposed to. But, strictly speaking, both of these statements can’t be true at the same lime and in the same way, though a single group propagates them without comment. It’s never questioned. Buying the first statement keeps us from hating and fearing the victim of AIDS. The second fills us with an unfocusable dread — very handy if you have a certain agenda. Myself, I’m for more research into AIDS and for protection of those with the disease —just like I rooted for the Chinese people while Tiananmen Square was going down. But I dislike being manipulated, and so should you. It’s hard enough to keep track of the facts without thus covert manipu lation of them by people with hidden motives. And there arc still subtler forms of coercion. They have to do with setting up the question so as to incriminate the respondent. This version of the game doesn’t require enormous resources; anyone with a microphone can play. When George Bush was asked to guess the price of a loaf of bread, it was a master stroke. No answer would be sufficient. No matter what number he gave, he was trapped — because there is no one price, and any hesitation on his part would show he was only guessing anyway. 1 really admire the demonic sim-, plicity of that question. Another way of playing the “heads I-win-tails-you-lose” game is to po larize a complex issue into simple black and white alternatives. A perfect example comes to hand right here at UNL. * Regardless of its intentions, the Office of Affirmative Action has pulled off something pretty smooth with its “safe place” stickers. When an official organ of the uni versity hands out such stickers to pro fessors, the profs are automatically stuck with two alternatives. If they post the stickers, the office that produced them wins. But gay students will be watching, we all will. We can*t help but watch to sec who fails to post the sticker. It's nothing as clear-cut as evi dence of homophobia; it’s just a little hint, a little indicator of the profes sor's stance on the issue. The same kinds of tactics are used in fascist states to bring the sheep gently into the fold. If 1 were a professor, and I imagine 1 will be one day, 1 would never submit to that kind of blackmail — though Pm certainly open to talking about sex and sexual orientation. It’s one of my favorite topics. To resort to self-parody for a mo ment — some of my best friends are gay. In fact, two or my three closest friends in all the world are gay. But it's my contention that coer cion should be resisted. It’s never fair, and it’s never right to play that game. Because where you stand on the issues doesn't matter—whether you side with the “warlords,” etc., or against them. In the game of coercion, all those who play are ultimately losers. Baldridfe b a icalor EagMih major, a Dally Nebraikaa art* aid aalartala meat M aiar reporter aad a colaaiaiit. P.S. Write Back The Daily Nebrakan wants to hear from you. If you want to voice your opinion about an article that appears in the newspaper, let us know. Just write abriefletter to the editor and sign it (don’t forget your student ID number) and mail it to the Daily Nebraska, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400'R'Street, Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, or stop by the office in the basement of the Nebraska Union and visit with us. We're all cars.