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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1994)
V Opinion Nebraskan Thursday, April 7,1994 Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska Lincoln Jeremy Fitzpatrick Rainlww Rowell Adeana Left in. . Todd Cooper Jeff Zeleny. Sarah Duey. William Lauer .Editor. 472-1766 Opinion Page Editor Managing Editor .Sports Editor .Associate News Editor Arts & Entertainment Editor Senior Photographer Em I OKI \l. Fijis forgiven Hazing incident shouldn t impede fraternity’ For the members of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, the last six months haven’t been easy. They have had to face the conscqucnecs of Jeffrey Knoll's fall. They were publicly punished for his hazing. There were some people at the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln who thought the fraternity shouldn’t be allowed on campus anymore. But they were here. They accepted the sanctions given them, including community service requirements and a live-in graduate adviser. And they survived. The Fijis should continue to work to make their fraternity stronger. They should remember what happened to Knoll, but they should not let the incident hold them back. Hazing and alcohol abuse have been problems throughout the grcck system, not just in their fraternity. What happened to the Fijis helped opened everyone’s eyes. It led to a state law that made hazing a crime. Now the Fijis should be allowed to heal. Yes. they must abide by the sanctions laid down by the Judicial Board, but their mis takes should not hold them back. A stronger Fiji Fraternity will strengthen the grcck system, which in turn brings a stronger university. If the Fijis show they arc sincere about reforming their fraternity, the rest of the univer sity should respect them accordingly. Justice needed Clinton s court pick should not be political he retirement of Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun will give President Clinton a second chance to appoint a justice to the court. In many ways, Clinton’s appointment ofjusticcs to the court arc the most important deci sions he will make. In their job of interpreting our laws, the court members closely touch the lives of all Americans. The person Clinton helps place on the court will likely serve for most of his or her life and will directly influence generations of Americans. The court determines exactly what the law means. In American history, they have used that power to both discriminate and liber ate. They arc the last stop in the American judicial process. As can be expected when a justice retires, there is a frenzy of speculation about who Clinton will appoint. Sen. George Mitchell of Maine is high on many lists. Janet Reno has also been men tioned. Whoever is picked should be chosen for his or her devotion to the law and his or her wisdom and experience. America does not need another Supreme Court justice placed on the court because he or she believed in one political philosophy or another. In these often troubled times, America needs justice. All eyes will be on the president in the weeks ahead as he considers his choices. We can only hope he will make a choice that will serve American interests, not political ones. Himioki \i 1*01 u n Staffeditorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1004 Daily Nebraskan Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board Editorials do not necessarily relied 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 tire Daily Nebraskan They establish the UNE 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 III 11 U POI It \ 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 material 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 newspuper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot 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 I can't Tlllf WE'RE FOllOWED RYONEOF TOE CWM REPORTERS OR K jl QREEDV 80'sREPUBl\CI\U. SAM KKIM IKU) Bamboo cane serves justice The big buzzword for th is year’s elections will be crime. Con gress is considering yet an other crime bill, which includes 40 new capital crimes (House version) or 52 (Senate version). These new death penalty ofTenscs include genocide, use of weapons of mass destruction resulting in death, and murder on an offshore oil plat form. President Clinton promised 100,000 new police officers on the streets in his campaign, but current proposals will fund only 10,000, and those will be mostly administrative support positions. Meanwhile, in Singapore, authori ties are preparing to punish Michael Kay.a teen-age U.S. citizen convicted of vandalism. Fay faces Hogging with a bamb(K) cane, administered by a martial artsexpert, which often causes heavy loss of blood, unconsciousness and permanent scarring. when they appealed the case, hay s mother and counsel pleaded that he was “psychologically troubled" and had been for years. Besides, it was only h ls first offense, so why not 1 ighten upon him? It’s a classic protest of the middle and upper classes in America, but it didn’t work in Singapore. Fay’s case has generated sobbing protests from his mother on ABC ’s “Pr i meT ime Live" and pleas for mercy from President Clinton. Yet most Americans want to sec him punished. The sentiment for Hogging Fay (a punishment not unknown to the Foundi ng Fathers) tells us much about the crime problem here in America. No federal crime bill, no matter how many new and exotic capital crimes it contains, will solve the issue until we get serious about crime and punish ment. Some assume the federal gov ernment can do this with a sweeping dictate. False. Only 3 percent of all crimes fall under federal jurisdiction, to begin with. The U.S. government has not executed an>one since March 15, 1963, and only last week did it begin r In Singapore, the old defense of “he’s a troubled boy” didn’t cut it, and Michael Fay has to take his punishment like a man. building its Hrst execution chamber in Terre Haute, Ind. The only problem is that the government hasn’t figured out what exact procedures to follow i n carryingout thedeathsbylethal injec tion. After 30 years, the feds are plan ning their first execution, in Powhatan, Virginia's slate penitentiary. In 10KX. being a “drug kingpin” became a capital offense, federal pros ecutors have sought the death penalty for this 37 times, and it's worked only six tunes. Meanw hile, states have pro ceeded with 135 actual executions since I9XX. And what of the capital crimes process in the states? Look no further than Roger Bjorklundor HaroldOtey to observe the dismal slate of our judicial system. Bjorklund can bom bard judges with requests such as not getting enough law library time, or with complaints that Uxxi servers in prison are not wearing hairnets. i ncjudge nasto actually near these motions, because to tell Bjorklund that he’s a pathetic, whining piece of human garbage and that he’s sup posed to be in PRISON forchrissakc. not Club Med, would be to open the door for challenges to his incarcera tion and conviction based on the Eighth Amendment’s ban on Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Bjorklund is going to be around a while to let us know how ill-treated he is, too. Even i f he gets the death penally,judging by current Nebraska standards, he won’t get anywhere near the electric chair before the year 2009. In Singapore, the old defense of “he’sa troubledboy”didn’tcut it,and Michael Fay has to take his punish ment like a man. Citizens are tired of seeing well-dressed punks from gwxl l am il ies get off w ith a slapon the wrist for drug trafficking or murder. The same olTenses by poor m i nori t ies draw hard prison lime — at least until some compassionate liberal judge orders them released. Notice they never go to the neighborhoods where the judges live, either. America celebrates individualism but has twisted it so that excuses for criminal behavior are rampant. We manufacture new rights or psycho logical excuses almost daily. This cre ates the violent ghettos and broken families that arc breeding grounds for mayhem. Anu men we look to tnc icoerai government to pass a crime bill to bail us out. We deride anyone who sug gests that the real cure is changed societal attitudes toward the family and responsibility as hopelessly old fashioned at best — and bigoted at worst. Getting serious about crime comes from within a society, not from Congress. It means equal justice for all and equal punishment for all. If it means perm anen t ly sea r ri ng some r ich kid’s lily-white butt, then so be it. It’s a damn sight better than our current body count. kepfleld ii a graduate student in history and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. "I P.S. Write Back The Daily Nebraskan 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 a brief letter to the editor and sign it (don't forget your student ID number) and mail it to the Daily Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R' Street, Lincoln, NE 68858-0488, or stop by the office in the basement of the Nebraska Union and visit us. We're all ears, so pick up a pen and write.