OPINION
Nd?raskan
TMMtaVi Octokw M, 1SN
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska- Lincoln
Jeremy Fitzpatrick . .
Kathy Steinauer....
Wendy Mott.
Todd Cooper.
Chris Hopjensperger
Kim Spurlock.
Kiley Timperley ....
. . . Editor, 472-1766
Opinion Page Editor
. . . Managing Editor
.Sports Editor
.... Copy Desk Chief
.Sower Editor
Senior Photographer
I Dl l()RI \l
A11 wet
Flood of plans waters down health reform
Reps. Fred Grandy, R-Iowa, and Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., have
proposed an alternative to President Clinton’s health care
plan. The alternative plan is less costly, but would not
mandate coverage for all Americans.
The proposal has drawn bipartisan support because it would
save money. But the plan is flawed and would not solve the health
care crisis in the United States.
The main flaw in the plan is that it expects free market forces
to ensure that all people have health care. The United States’
current health care system demonstrates clearly that this will not
happen. Everyone will not be covered unless coverage is mandat
ed.
Any health plan that would save money obviously would be
preferred. But the Cooper and Grandy plan would not save money
because the problem of uninsured Americans would persist.
Currently, about 30 million people in the United States do not
have health insurance. Cooper and Grandy’s proposal would do
little to change that.
Their alternative health care plan is positive because it will
spur debate about the best and most economical way to provide
health insurance to all Americans. But it is not the answer and
should not be approved.
President Clinton’s plan is not the only one and should be open
to changes. But it would be a mistake to water down health care
reform to the point that it did little to fix an ailing system.
Terminal kindness
Kevorkian s actions humane, not criminal
Dr. Jack Kevorkian assisted with his 19th suicide last week,
helping a 72-year-old woman who suffered from Lou
Gehrig’s disease die of carbon monoxide poisoning. But
the medical examiner of that county said the death should be
considered a homicide, not an assisted suicide.
Kevorkian is not a criminal. He has already been accused of
murder in three of the 19 suicides he has assisted and the charges
have been dropped each time.
He has consistently helped only terminally ill people die
humanely, which is a positive option to spending an indetermin
able amount of time hooked to machines in hospitals.
The Michigan Legislature passed a law outlawing assisted
suicides specifically to make Kevorkian’s actions illegal. Any law
made to affect specifically one person is unfair and wasteful. The
Michigan Legislature should focus on more pressing issues
instead of dealing with just one person.
Euthanasia, assisted suicides and Kevorkian have honorable
intentions. Kevorkian has assisted with suicides of terminally ill
people who have sought him out because they do not want to
continue living in pain. His option to these people is humane and
should not be restricted by this state law.
If the people looking for Kevorkian’s help have made a rational
decision to end their lives, have terminal illnesses and no hope of
feeling better, they should have the option that Kevorkian pro
vides. It is more inhumane to tell these people how to live their
lives when they no longer enjoy life.
I HI into \| IN i| 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
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the opinion of the author The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan They establish the UNL
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the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of tbe newspaper lies solely in the hands of
its students.
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p \i kk k li wimu•:< ii i
Fight at fountain provokes fear
Kok-Chuan Lim is scared to
walk past Broyhill Fountain at
night.
He’s a typical UNL senior from
Malaysia. The 23-year-old is major
ing in industrial engineering and works
part time at the Neihardt cafeteria.
But since homecoming night, when
his friend, Boon-Chung “Marco” Ong,
was beaten outside the union, he's
been afraid to walk on campus after
dark.
Lim says, “Say you go to Malay
sia, and you study at a Malaysian
university,and lObig Malaysians beat
you up for no reason? You’d be
scared!”
When Lim’s father heard about the
beating, he told his son to lay low.
“Don’t go to school fora few days,”
his father instructed. Lim tried hard to
convince his dad UNL was safe enough
for him to attend class.
In the Neihardt cafeteria, Malay
sian students still argue about the
beating. They discuss whether Ong’s
beating was racially provoked and
worry about how safe UNL is now. 1
sat down with my friends Lim and
Yan-Ping Seng on Sunday afternoon
and listened to them talk.
Seng said, “The vice chancellor
said that Marco was in the wrong
place at the wrong time. But this fight
didn’t happen in a bar, it happened on
a university. UNL is alcohol-free; it’s
not the wrong place.”
“I don’t think it’s a racial issue,”
Lim said. “The people were drunk, so
they were looking for trouble.”
Seng and Lim have heard different
rumors about how the fight occurred.
Marco was waiting for friends, they
agree, when “10 black Africans
walked up” and one pushed Marco
into the fountain.
According to Seng, the fight hap
pened immediately after Marco was
pushed into the fountain. But Lim
heard Marco chased the assailants to
the union after he was shoved and
confronted his attackers there. Either
way, the story ends the same.
r‘lt may take a while for Marco to
heal,” Lim said. “When I saw him his
face was all swelled up and was kind
Assault
Vice Chancellor for Student Af
fairs James Griesen said there was no
reason to believe the atssault on the
Malaysian student Boon-Chung Ong
was racially motivated (DN, Oct. 19).
However, that does not mean there
was no reason to believe that it was
not racially motivated. Could it be
that Ong had been so carelessly ste
reotyped as yet another one of the
Asian Americans who are so often,
but wrongly and unjustifiably, ac
cused by other minority groups of
Seng said, ‘The vice chancellor
said that Marco was in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
But this fight didn’t happen in a
bar, it happened on a universi
ty.’
of big.”
Seng said, “The school is not very
concerned about this issue. They just
say ‘That’s too bad, that’s too bad.’
The next time a violent person is
looking for a fight, they’ll find an
Asian person. Because nothing hap
pened this time, we are the target.”
Lim said, “Asians have a very small
presence on UNL campus. We have
no voice.”
“In the Rodney King case, the po
lice said it was not a racial issue, but
the people rioted. The black people
wanted to riot for King. Why? To
prevent another case from happening
to a black person.”
Lim and Seng criticize the Afrikan
People’s Union for not notifying the
police of their rap festival on home
coming night.
Seng said, “Three hundred to 400
people attended the rap festival. You
can’t say nothing will happen with
that many people. But the APU didn’t
fill out the police form in time.”
“I don’t feel safe,” Lim said. “Yes
terday I was at the union afler my
Bible study. I imagined what would
happen if many guys came up to me.
What could I do? Asians are the peo
ple who got hit, and nobody cared
about it.”
“My friend, Fook-Sin Lee, told me
a joke,” Lim said. “What do you do if
a group of guys come up to you at the
fountain? Say, ‘No, it’s OK, I’ll throw
myself in the water fountain. It’s
OK!’”
He laughed.
I asked Lim what the UNL admin
istration should do to prevent vio
lence.
“Maybe a safety program,” Lim
I I I II Rn III illl I 111 IHK
being the ones who just come and
steal the goodies away?
I would like to let those ignorant
attackers know that not all Asian stu
dents here are Asian American, and
most of us do not intend to become
one. We are simply regular interna
tional or exchange students. As far as
I know, American students, black or
white, always are welcomed with great
hospitality in my home country. Why
do we have to experience such horri
fying treatment here?
Despite the tragedy, I must admit I
said. “Not just for Asian students, but
for all students."
“What would a safe ty program do?”
I asked.
“What would you suggest?” Lim
replied, and laughed again. “Maybe
the university could introduce stu
dents and start a harmonious environ
ment on campus. If you are my friend,
I don’t want to fight you.”
I called Boon Lee Lim, the UNL
president of international affairs, to
ask him about the violence. He re
fused to make a comment, but called
me back later with a written state
ment.
“Violence is something that can
not be tolerated,” Lee read to me over
the phone.
“Whoever is responsible for the
incident should be brought to justice.
This incident has been negative pub
licity for the university because the
news has been spread across the world
by The Associated Press.”
Despite Lee Lim’s formal tone, it
would be hard to miss his implied
threat.
Foreign students attend UNL par
tially because of its reputation as a
“safe campus.” Malaysian UNL stu
dents alone spend more than $4 mil
lion in Lincoln, according to Lim. If
the campus administration and Uni
versity Police don’t do something
quickly to redeem UNL as a “safe,
alcohol-free campus,” the dollars and
trust of international students could
soon ebb away from our figurative
Midwestern shores.
... llanbrecht li a sophomore aewi-cdttori
al aajor a ad a Dally Nebraska* cotunaiat.
have a wonderful time studying in
America, and I have found the great
majority of Americans to be extreme
ly warm and friendly. I was all ready
to share my “perfectly" wonderful
experience with my friends back home
in Malaysia when I graduate next
May. Unfortunately, this incident just
added an unnecessary, bad stroke that
spoiled an otherwise perfectly drawn
picture.
Francis Tan
graduate student
marketing
