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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1994)
Open on Thursday, October 20,1994 Page 4 Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln JeffZeleny.Editor, 472-1766 Kara Morrison. Opinion Page Editor Angie Brunkow...Managing Editor Jeffrey Robb.Associate News Editor Rainbow Rowel!.Columnist/Associate News Editor Kiley Christian.Photography Director Mike Lewis... .Copy Desk Chief James Mehs ling.Cartoonist eed the call People should oppose new UNO college Officially, the distance between Lincoln and Omaha is only 57 miles. But in reality, Nebraska's two largest cities arc much farther apart — educationally, economically and philosophically. Compared to Lincoln, Omaha is an economic power. More industry, business and employment opportunities call the Big “O” home. Omaha has a laige — and sometimes boisterous — voice that echoes statewide. This is why the debate on establishing an engineering college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha is being heard so loudly. Lincoln is smaller. Lincoln has less industry. But, Lincoln has one thing Omaha does not — a quality engineering program that is already established at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. On Aug. 10, 1993, the great engineering debate was made public at an Omaha business meeting. Since then, the issue has gotten personal and has again started to pit Lincoln and Omaha against each other. During the past 14 months, the issue has been publicized to death. An independent consultant group already has issued its report. A nine-member university-appointed task force will give its recommendation to University of Nebraska President Dennis Smith on Nov. 15. But don't expect that recommendation to end the wrangling. The final word on creating a separate college will then be in the hands of the NU Board of Regents. Regents should be hearing from their constituents now Al though the issue has been out on the table for more than a year, Nebraskans don't seem to be getting involved in the discussion. The discussion is and has been centered on the butting of talking heads from Lincoln and Omaha. Now is the time to remind the board of regents and legislators that the state simply cannot afford the duplication of a compli cated, expensive program such as engineering. The state is facing a potential $80 million to $ 120 million budget shortfall in the next biennium. Nebraskans won't be receptive to a tax increase. For these and many other reasons, the creation of a separate Omaha engineering college is neither economically feasible nor logical. The Omaha business coalition, led by David Sokol, does have a legitimate concern. Engineering opportunities do need to be enhanced in Omaha. Their needs should not be neglected, but that can be accomplished without spending millions of dollars In the next month — as the engineering push continues — the debate should not get personal. But it should be taken seriously. Write letters; get informed Your tax dollars are at stake. Staff editorials represent the official policy of the fall 1994 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, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its students The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters te 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 arc 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 he granted Submit material to the Daily Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln. Neb 68588-0448 Police Shane Tucker has a problem with the use of intuition by police officers. If his column (DN, Oct. 18. 1994) is any indication of Mr. Tucker's reasoning abilities, I would trust a police officer's intuition much more than Mr. Tucker ’s logical prowess. Mr. Tucker states that “the officer rounded the corner after I was already on the ground, the bottle already out of my posses sion" I have a question If Mr. Tucker was inebriated and on the hood of a moving vehicle, how did he know when the officer came around the corner? Also, how does Mr. Tucker know the officer was confused and frustrated? He obviously was right that Mr. Tucker was underage. Perhaps “Officer Spank” was a little brighter than Mr. Tucker gave him credit for being. Mr. Tucker also questioned why the officer had to handcufT his “buck-thirty frame.” During the summer. I live near Newport News. Vh. Early this summer, an officer in that city made a routine traffic stop. The suspect was in the back seat of the cruiser. While the officer was filling out the ticket, the suspect pulled out a handgun and shot the officer in the back of the head. The point? Being a police officer is dangerous, and precautions need to be taken, and you don’t take them just some of 11k: time. Instead of berating the police officers of the community when they do their job (e g arresting people for breaking the law), you should be thankful that someone is out making the community safer while you sit in the bar and drink. Michael Valerien senior philosophy Children I was extremely offended by Michelle Paulman's column (DN, Oct. 19. 1994). The particular quote that offended me was “with the spread of AIDS and other assorted diseases — such as babies ...” Pregnancy is not a diseasel It sounds like Paulman wants to find a “cure” to children! All pregnan cies may not be planned, but it is something women should be proud of; no man could ever carry a child. To call pregnancy a disease is to use the same argument men have used for years to keep women from the work force or from being president (she’ll get PMS and blow up the world!). Finally, children who are viewed as a “disease" are children who will be abused. (What docs this say about people who hold those views?) “I hit my kid because he asked for it: it was his fault.” Children will never be safe in our society until we put their interests before our own. Adults , have to remember that children are special; they depend totally on their parents. Also, children do not choose to be conceived; parents choose to have sex and become pregnant. Having sex is accepting the chance of becoming pregnant. If Paulman wants a “cure" to preg nancy, maybe she should refrain from sex until she is ready to accept the child she may conceive. I think society should stop worrying about how much sex it's getting and start worrying about how its members arc being treated, especially the children. Kerry Hanigan junior English Bret Gottshall/DN Sexual politics I have been reading the Daily Nebraskan all semester, and it has come to my attention that the sexual politics of this campus, this state and this culture arc being played out daily on its pages — both through inclusion and omis sion. First of all, I am absolutely appalled by the headline “Alcohol use increases risk of rape” (DN, Oct. 18. 1994). This implies that when women drink, it is their fault if they are raped. If they were “good girls, they wouldn’t drink and so wouldn't get raped. Nothing is said about the consumption of the rapist — no implication that if the rapist didn’t drink, he wouldn’t rape The responsibility for avoiding rape is once again dumped on women. The sexual politics arc clear: Not only must women survive silently after rape, but we should live in constant fear of bejng ^ap^4 We should be afraid to go out alone at night, to talk to strangers, to wear short skirts or low-cut shirts. We shouldn't like sex. and now we shouldn't drink. On the other hand, men arc taught that if a “girl” lets them pay for dinner, invites them into her room, wears revealing clothing, has consensual sex with them once, is known to have had sex with other men. and now if she drinks, then she can be — should be — forced to have sex with them. As the article under the above headline said, men who have raped will describe their actions but will not define their actions as rape or themselves as rapists. My second point is one of omission by the DN. The federal mandate that provides Medicaid funds for poor women who choose to terminate pregnancies resulting from rape and incest went into cfTect Oct. 1, 1993. Gov. Ben Nelson, Attorney General Don Stcnbcrg and Mary Dean Harvey, director of the Department of Social Services, have all been named in a suit filed by Planned Parenthood because of their refusal to comply States that don’t comply with federal mandates lose federal funding. In this case. Nebraska stands to lose $390 million in federal Medicaid funds. Louisiana failed to comply with this mandate and lost $35 million before the state laws were changed. - The reality is that Nelson and Stcnbcrg arc using this as an election ploy. Whether pro- or anti choice. Nelson is out to bamboozle you! He is trying to back up his anti-choice stance by defying a federal mandate — but as soon as he is elected, he will be forced to recant and approve compliance in the face of losing much needed federal funds. For sexual political reasons, this issue has not been covered by the DN. Instead, we arc given homophobic columns and offensive headlines. Freedom of the press is dead on arrival. Nell Eckcrsley senior women's studies