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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 1994)
Opinion Monday, November 14,1994 Page 4 Nebraskan Edtorial Board University of Nebraska-Uncoin JeffZeleny..Editor. 472-1766 Kara Morrison. Opinion Page Editor Angie Brunkow..Managing Editor Jeffrey Robb.Associate News Editor Rainbow Rowell.Columnist/Associate News Editor Mike Lewis.Copy Desk Chief James Mehsling.Cartoonist 4-H for whom? Ray Massey would have discriminated Ray Massey has cried discrimination twice. First, Massey asked a committee overseeing a 4-H camp in Gretna to strike sexual orientation from a nondiscrimination policy the committee was adopting. Massey, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln assistant profes sor of agricultural economics, was not a member of the 4-H committee. He was, however, pan of a committee searching for a new director of the Southeast Research and Extension Center, which oversees programs such as 4-H. Members of the 4-H committee voted 20-15 in favor of Massey’s proposal. The policy would have applied to camp counselors and employees as well as children who attended the camp. In other words, certain 4-H camp counselors, employees and children could have been subject to discrimination if Massey had had his way. Ken Bolen, director of the Cooperative Extension office, said the Eastern 4-H Center was part of UNL and could not bypass its nondiscrimination policy. The committee’s action, Bolen said, was “a moot point.” After interviewing Massey, Bolen removed him from the search committee position. In a second outcry, Massey insisted Bolen had discrimi nated against him for his views. Massey is right to say that discrimination, solely because of viewpoint, is wrong. This is precisely the point of UNL’s nondiscrimination policy. Massey was not dismissed from the committee for his views on homosexuality. He was dismissed for saying he would not follow the university’s nondiscrimination policy as a search committee member. It was a matter of action, not viewpoint. 4-H committee members who voted for Massey’s proposal were not questioned or dismissed for their viewpoints. Eric Jolly, UNL’s affirmative action director, said the members had a right to voice their opinions. But the committee members do deserve criticism for their ignorant acceptance of stereotypes and discrimination. Massey’s refusal to follow UNL’s policy in the search for a new extension center director was what warranted his re moval. By leaving him on the search committee, UNL officials would fail to fulfill the institution’s commitment to nondis criminatory hiring. Massey was, in effect, saying he would actively discriminate against homosexuals in searching for a qualified extension director. University officials were right in dismissing Massey from his committee position. It is ironic that Massey used a discrimination argument to challenge his removal from the committee. But it was a step in the right direction for him to recognize discrimination is indeed wrong. SufT 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 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 relumed. 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 -sw -1 rrr-i '***• . S>k Clinton impairing Democrats Last Tuesday night, the biggest game of them all was played across America. Final score: Republicans 60, Democrats 0. It must have been quite a scene in the political “war room” in the White House, all those Democratic strategists scurrying about trying to put a positive spin on what would become a dismal evening. It's about enough to drive the Democratic leadership to drink. But first, get the keys away from Sen. Ted Kennedy. Well, one thing is virtually certain: Bill Clinton will not be our next president. There are two scenarios that make his re-election highly unlikely. Scenario No. 1: President Clinton doesn't even run. After the defeat of his party, it is possible that the Democratic National Commit tee will ask him not to run. One thing is for sure — the committee will not allow Clinton to take its party further into the political abyss. At this point, President Clinton has two choices: He can either heed their advice, pull an LBJ and not seek his party’s nomination, or he can ignore the Democratic commit tee and choose to run against what appears to be a strong GOP presi dential candidate field. This brings us to Scenario No. 2: President Clinton runs and — as things look now — is defeated by a GOP candidate still riding the tide of voter anger toward President Clinton. Can you say President Dole? Powell? Quayle??? In either scenario, President Clinton is on the speaking tour and writing his memoirs in 1997 (possibly tentatively titled, “I Felt Your Pain”). All this begs the question: Why did this happen? Why did the Why did the majority party become the minority party in Congress? It's because candidate Clinton ran one way; and President Clinton has governed another. majority party become the minority party in Congress? It's because candidate Clinton ran one way, and President Clinton has governed another. Let me tell you right now, I voted for Bill Clinton. I didn’t vote for him because I was impressed with the way he played his sax or the way his black shades made him look oh, so hip. I did, however, vote for Clinton because he genuinely seemed to care about education reform, and he reached out to the younger generation better than George Bush. I also trusted what he said. This has turned out to be a mistake. Not so much for me, because he has delivered on much of what I primarily care about. But on the issues that afTcct the majority of Americans who are adults, pay taxes and are finished with their formal educations, he has failed. Candidate Clinton promised a middle-class tax cut. President Clinton said this was impossible. Candidate Clinton said his health care proposal would not be intrusive and would not cost taxpayers money. But when the media and the people picked apart the plan, we discovered this was not the case. I could go on, but these two examples stand out the most as we try to come to terms with what happened last Tuesday night. President Clinton, well-intentioned or not, betrayed the trust of many of the people who voted for him. Any good politician will tell you that you can get away with that only once or twice before the roof caves in —just ask George “read my lips" Bush. The roof caved in on Nov. 8, 1994. But as the old saying goes, it’s never over till it’s over. I still believe the Democratic Party has much to offer. Because of the score on Tuesday night, it may be difficult for the Democrats to have an effect on American citizens. Losing the majority control of Congress and stepping down to the minority is a hard blow for the Democratic Party to deal with. 1 believe the Democrats’ best chance for putting one of its own in the White House in ’96 is to make sure Bill Clinton is not the nomi nee. With a nominee who does not carry the political baggage of a president who presided over his party when it lost control of Congress, the Democrats still can make a successful drive in two years. But President Clinton will have to relinquish the keys. Stock b a Junior secondary education major and a Dally Nebraskan columnist 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 PS WfitP brief letter to the editor and sign it (don’t forget your i.o. wiiiv. 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. '*4 7 ■