Thursday, November 4,1993 Daily Nebraskan
College Republicans: Grow up
It amazes me that the very people
who wrap themselves in the
American flag are the same ones
who deny the rights that flag symbol
izes to people different from them
selves.
Latest example: the UNL College
Republicans’ most recent attention
grabbing stunt.
I really, really dislike being an
other cog in their publicity wheel. It
seems every time the College Re
publicans or The Ideal want to blath
er, KOLN/KG IN-TV and the Lin
coln Journal-Star are wasting time
and space on it.
But I can’t help myself, especial
ly in this instance.
Tuesday, Shane Tucker, UNL Col
lege Republicans’ chairman, issued
a press release in response to the
pink triangle stickers distributed by
the UNL Affirmative Action Office
the week of Oct. 11.
The AAO gave the stickers to fac
ulty and staff members during Na
tional Coming Out Week. Students
also received stickers from a booth
in the Nebraska Union. Those indi
viduals who chose to post or wear the
stickers did so to show homosexual
students support and offer a safe en
vironment for discussing gay issues.
The College Republicans obvious
ly were not happy about this overt
act of tolerance at UNL. To respond
to the pink triangle distribution, the
CRs decided to issue some stickers
of their own.
Accompanying their press release
was a letter and a photocopied sheet
of their stickers. Twenty stickers were
shown, complete with commentary.
I won’t go into the nature of the
stickers. Suffice it to say the College
Republicans seemed to be shooting
from the hip, having put little to no
thought into them. Perhaps they were
feeble attempts at humor — I say
attempts because humorous they were
not. Instead, I found them offensive
for the most part, stupid on the whole.
The only point the stickers con
I wonder why treating all stu
dents— all human beings for
that matter — with a little digni
ty and a little respect is now a
political issue.
veyed to me was that the College
Republicans lack any sense of taste
or maturity.
The press release said the project
was “meant to point out the universi
ty’s wasteful spending habits, to make
light of the notion that diversity can
be instilled by a costly sticker cam
paign, and to question the universi
ty’s involvement in political crusades.
“The notion that stickers will cre
ate an atmosphere of loving tender
ness is misguided at best,” Tucker
said. “It’s unfortunate that the uni
versity will waste state dollars to fight
a political battle for any group.”
I’ll take those points one at a time.
Wasteful spending habits and state
dollars?
My, my, my. Tucker and his mer
ry band of “We’re Young! We’re
Conservative!! We’re College Repub
licans!!!” are certainly taking a solid
stand on swampland.
The aforementioned pink triangle
stickers were funded completely
through donations. So that deflates
their argument about “wasteful spend
ing habits” and the involvement of
state dollars in a “costly” campaign.
UNL’s involvement in a political
crusade?
I question the phrasing. I wonder
when providing an atmosphere re
ceptive to students became a politi
cal battle. I wonder why treating all
students — all human beings for that
matter — with a little dignity and a
little respect is now a political issue.
Why is it not simply an issue of be
ing tolerant?
^Amveisity is supposed.to,bg m
educational institution of the highest
level. Why then would one of its
student groups stoop to a level so
childish and ignorant as the stance
the College Republicans have taken?
I respect the expression of free
speech.
However, I wish the College Re
publicans could express themselves
in a tasteful, mature manner.
Come on, folks, we’re in college
here.
I’m almost 26 years old. I left
junior high a long, long time ago,
and I have no intention of returning.
My greatest hope regarding this
fiasco is that the College Republi
cans will graduate from adolescence
soon, as close to immediately as pos
sible.
Especially considering the fact that
many of these students see themselves
as the future leaders of our state and
our country.
All the American flag waving and
patriotic shouting College Republi
cans do won’t get them anywhere —
except, perhaps, a guest shot on the
Rush Limbaugh show — unless they
support the beliefs that flag and
America espouse.
To be taken seriously in the real
world, they’ll have to quit shooting
from the hip and do a little growing
up.
Because, after all, shooting from
the hip is something only children
and fools do.
Steyer is a senior English and history
najor, a Daily Nebraskan arts aad enter
tainment senior reporter and a columnist.
Senate has no right to diary
1 watch way too much TV. I actu
ally found myself watching the
Packwood Diaries Debate on
Tuesday night. Yes, I actually found
myself caring whether or not the Sen
ate forced Mr. Packwood to release
more than 8,000 pages of his risque
personal diary. We probably won’t
find out what*s actually in them for a
long, long time, but just the notion
that a senator keeps track of his col
leagues’ sex lives makes the imagi
nation run wild. Admittedly, these
examples are pure speculation, but
as the old Keystone saying goes,
wouldn’t it be great if we found out:
• That the past marital “trouble”
candidate Clinton was referring to
during last year’s presidential cam
paign was actually his secret, torrid
affair with talk-show mogul Oprah
Winfrey.
• That in a bizarre twist of fate,
Packwood reportedly witnessed
Luther Campbell and arch-conserva
tive Phyllis Schlafley carrying on
backstage at a 2-Live Crew concert.
• That in the margins of the diary,
Packwood jotted down notes about
seven secret, late-night meetings be
tween a “J. Reno” and an “H. Stem.”
• That the Quayles happen to be
big fans of leather paraphernalia.
But alas, we could never be so
lucky.
Health care couldn’t do it. NAFTA
couldn’t do it. Somalia and Haiti
couldn’t even do it. Nope, the one
issue that finally was able to bring
the Senate to complete, unwavering
attention was, what else, sex. The
investigation of dirt-bag
extraordinaire Sen. Bob “No, I think
you DO want to go out with me”
Packwood recently brought the Sen
ate to a screeching halt.
The investigation has been going
on for more than a year now, but this
past week, a few interesting twists
occurred. Trying to deflect heat,
Packwood made a few not-so-subtle
threats to fellow members of Con
f;ress that he had dirt on their sex
ives. If, in the most unfortunate of
As amusing as the thought of
letting Packwood hang him
self with his own testimony is,
forcing him to release the
diaries at minimum violates
the spirit of his constitutional
right to privacy.
events, he was forced to turn over his
diary to the Ethics Committee, some
incriminating evidence — that he, as
an elected official, was safely keep
ing under lock and key — might
somehow, accidentally, against his
most valiant of efforts, slip out. They
didn’t take too well to threats, though,
and now, because they think that his
diaries contain evidence of criminal
activity, members of the Senate are
debating whether or not to go to court
to force Packwood to release the dia
ries.
As amusing as the thought of let
ting Packwood hang himself with his
own testimony is, forcing him to re
lease the diaries at minimum violates
the spirit of his constitutional right to
privacy. No matter how much the
Senate wants to come across as being
intolerant of unethical behavior, it
cannot force Packwood to release pri
vate, personal writings.
The diaries are not part of the
Eublic record, and up to this point, he
asn’t been formally charged with
any crime. Even if he is eventually
charged, though, it makes no differ
ence. When the Ethics Committee
states that it wants to look at the
diaries because they might contain
evidence of unethical or illegal ac
tivities — might — then it has defi
nitely overstepped its bounds. Even
if the Senate somehow manages to
skirt that legal entanglement,
Packwood’s Fifth Amendment right
against self-incrimination will mote
likely than not protect his position if
tested in court.
You can’t punish Packwood’s il
legal or unethical activities by illegal
or unethical means. This isn't a case
of allowing the Ethics Committee to
do its rightful and legal duty. This
also isn’t the right opportunity to ex
orcise the ghosts of the Anita Hill
Clarence Thomas hearings. Washing
ton Sen. Patty Murray said that if the
Senate backs down, then it “sends a
message: If you are harassed, be qui
et, say nothing.” The ends don’t jus
tify the means here, though, and as
unpalatable as it may seem, you can’t
trample on Packwood's rights because
we all “know” he’s guilty.
Needless to say, I nave no admira
tion for Sen. Packwood. His self
portrayal as an innocent victim of the
almighty institution won’t get much
sympathy from me. It was his own
repulsive and pathetic actions toward
female staff members that got us into
this mess in the first place.
However, as hdrd as it is to swal
low, you have to follow the rules if
you want to get him. And unfortu
nately, following the rules while go
ing after the diaries probably won’t
get anywhere.
’t worry, though. In time, he’s
going to go down, and he’ll go down
hard. There’s no way he can avoid
his past. But now isn’t the time. If
the diaries issue is followed to its
inevitable legal conclusion,
Packwood may succeed in portray
ing himself as the victim, and the
real victims in this case may lose out.
Zimmerman li a Junior Kaglish major
and Dally Nebraskan columnist.
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