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 ■
