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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1994)
Qhncn Wednesday, October 19,1994 Page 4 Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincotn JeffZeleny.Editor, 472-1766 Kara Morrison.Opinion Page Editor Angie Brunkow.Managing Editor Jeffrey Robb.Associate News Editor Rainbow Rowell. Columnist/Associate News Editor Kilev Christian.Photography Director Mike Lewis.Copy Desk ChieJ James Mehsling..Cartoonist Tight squeeze Budget plan shouldn’t harm education We've had a few tight years at the University of Nebraska. As the state of Nebraska struggles to keep its budget manage able, the university system continues to tighten its belt. NU has been forced to increase tuition costs to maintain its educational quality. But things arc rough all over. Nebraskans, too, arc struggling financially. As Nebraskans become less able to afford a college education, the cost of a college education in Nebraska rises. According to a report approved by the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsccondary Education, state appropriations have not kept up with tuition increases. That means less financial aid is available to students who need it more than ever. Students arc borrowing more money than ever before, according to the report. The commission will give the report to Gov. Ben Nelson to use in budget planning. The commission recommends that state appro priations should stay constant — slow and steady. They're right. Keeping state appropriations constant will allow the universities to better plan their budgets and will help students afford an educa tion even in bad years. Drastically cutting education doesn't save taxpayers money. It just makes it harder for Nebraskans to get an education. When state legislators review NU’s budget this winter, they should approve a budget that is good for Nebraskans — a budget that helps Nebraskans stay in school. Stop slinging Voters get fed up with dirty campaigns As Election Day nears, political campaigns arc sinking to a characteristic level: down and dirty Robert Sittig, a University of Ncbraska-Lincoln political science professor, said negative campaign advertisements were becoming more common in Nebraska “Campaigns in Nebraska have a negative tone more so than in the recent past/’ Sittig said. “This is because candidates' cam paign-strategics people arc advising them to do it, and they arc " The candidates should let the public advise them to cut it out. Citizens' confidence in American politicians during the past few years has been nearly the same as their confidence in, for example, used-car salesmen This is the result of candidates making voting seem like choosing between the lesser of two evils. Campaign press secretaries for U S. Senate candidates Jan Stoncy and Bob Kerrey said their recent strategics merely had been to examine the opponent's record. Both have undoubtedly resorted to negative campaigning. The negativity will stop only when the public lets the candidates know they won't stand for it. You have 21 days. StafT editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1994 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Hoard Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the students or the Nli Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan They establish the UNI. 4 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. 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 newspaper 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. 68388-0448 (SO Llis UEKR YT FOR CLIRTOti tC.OYWK\Cb.ml. Buyers, think of the obvious 1 seldom give shopping tips, but here is a piece of shrewd advice that might be handy for those of you thinking of buying a computer. It might be your first computer, or maybe you are moving up to a more recent modeft. In cither case, this tip will prove invaluable: Be sure the computer you plan to buy will do what you want it to do. In other words, don’t buy a computer that won’t do what you want it to do. That’s because if you buy a computer that won't do what you want it to do. the things you want it to do won't be done. Then you will have wasted money. So I will repeat what should be a hard rule for any computer buyers: Before spending your money, be sure the computer will do what you want it to do. I’m confident you arc impressed by the wisdom and profundity of that statement. No need to thank me. That's why I’m here. But what is it that you arc saying? That my advice is stupid because it is so obvious? That anyone but a complete idiot knows thpt when you buy a computer or anything else, you should be sure that it will do what you want it to do? And you want to know why I am wasting your time and valuable newspaper space on advice that would be obvious to any tech-sawy 12-year-old? My feelings arc hurt. 1 really thought I was being helpful. You see, I just read a startling report on the computer purchases of the federal government. I was dismayed to discover that the government has squandered billions of dollars on computers that don’t do what the users want the computers to do. One senator. William Cohen of Maine, says the government has been spending about*32() billion a year for the past 10 years. That comes to about $200 billion, which is not exactly chump For a decade or more, we have had government buyers going out and spending billions on computers that don t do what they are supposed tcuio. Why? I assume it is because nobody told them: Be sure that machine will do what we want it to do. change, unless you pay taxes and consider yourself a chump, which some do. Many of these computers arc obsolete when they arrive. Or there are no spare parts, and the govern ment has to look in junk piles when the computers break down. Or they wheeze and cough or refuse to obey orders. Sometimes they don't work because the people who bought the computers didn’t bother to ask those who would use the computers what they wanted the computers to do. That, of course, could lead us to another important shopping tip: Always know what you want a computer to do before you buy it. In other words, don’t buy a computer unless you know what you want it to do. Actually, that advice would apply to just about anything you buy. whether it is underwear, a power lawn mower or a $40,000 car. And I m sure that once again someone is asking why I am giving out more stupidly shallow advice. But how am 1 to know that most people arc that smart when our very own federal government doesn’t follow these obvious guidelines? Here we have a United States senator drafting a new law specifi cally requiring the government to know what a computer will do before it is purchased And the law will also require the computer to actually do what it is supposed to do. See. smarty. If it is so obvious. why do we have to have a law? The law also would tell the people who buy computers for the government that if a computer on the shelf of a computer store will do the job. they should buy it instead of asking a company to start from scratch and design a computer that will do what the store model will do. I suppose that. too. seems obvious to many readers. That is why most people buy their comput ers ready made, instead of hiring a team of engineers to spend millions of dollars to help them find Carmen Sandicgo. But how obvious can it be if a committee of senators has to recommend a law requiring these shopping practices? For a decade or more, we have had government buyers going out and spending billions on computers that don’t do what they arc sup posed to do. Why? I assume it is because nobody told them: Be sure that machine will do what we want it to do. If someone had taken the trouble to tell them to buy a computer that will do what it is supposed to do. or to know what it should do before they bought It. a great cartoonlike light bulb would have gone on over their heads. And we would have saved many billions of our dollars. I wonder if the senator has thought about a law requiring government employees to flush the toilet? Copyright 1994 Tribune Media Service* Inc. I he 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 Nebras kan, 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.
